This Day in FAA History: December 20th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19291220: Pan American Airways placed orders for the Sikorsky S-40, a large four-engined flying boat. These were the first airplanes that Pan American christened “Clipper,” the subsequent trade mark name of the airline’s planes.
19331220: The Martin M-130 made its first flight. CAA type-certificated this four-engine, transoceanic flying boat designed for Pan American Airways, on October 9, 1935. The aircraft began service with Pan American on November 22, 1935.
19501220: Executive Order No. 10197, prepared and issued this date at the request of the Department of Defense, directed the Secretary of Commerce to exercise security control over aircraft in flight. Subsequent regulations promulgated by the CAA Administrator under delegation from the Secretary of Commerce made mandatory the filing of flight plans for aircraft entering or flying within designated air defense identification zones (ADIZs) over and adjoining the continental United States. A system for voluntary filing of plans for flights within ADIZs had been in effect previously. (See September 9, 1950, and June 1952.)
19551220: The Douglas DC-7C first flew. On May 15, 1956, CAA type-certificated the four engine, propeller-driven aircraft. Dubbed the “Seven Seas,” the transport was able to fly nonstop between the United States and many European cities and had a maximum capacity of 99 passengers. The plane entered scheduled airline service with Pan American World Airways on June 1, 1956.
19571220: The first U.S.-made turbojet airliner, the Boeing 707, first flew. (Boeing’s 367-80, the prototype for both the 707 and the military KC-135 Stratotanker, had first flown on July 15, 1954.) CAA certificated the aircraft, a four-engine, long-range plane with a maximum capacity of 189 passengers on September 23, 1958. The 707 entered scheduled airline service, on October 26, 1958, with Pan American World Airways (see October 4, 1958). On August 30, 1991, Boeing announced an end to production of the 707. The company built 857 of the 707s, selling the last as a radar surveillance plane earlier in 1991.
19731220: New airworthiness standards became effective for small aircraft (12,500 lbs. or less) applying for type certification after this date. The new rules contained almost 200 changes affecting flight characteristics, structures, design and construction, powerplants, equipment, and operating limitations.
19851220: DOT published a new rule on allocation of takeoff and landing reservations (“slots”) at the four airports subject to flight quotas under the High Density Rule (see March 6, 1984). Beginning on April 1, 1986, any person might buy, sell, trade, or lease air carrier or commuter slots (with the exception of international and essential air service slots, which were subject to certain transfer restrictions). A lottery procedure was provided for allocation of new slots, or slots returned under the rule’s use-or-lose provision. On March 12, 1986, DOT issued a special rule aimed at increasing competition: 5 percent of slots at high density airports would be assigned by lottery to new entrants and incumbent air carriers with fewer than 8 slots. Although the High Density Rule was subsequently amended in certain other respects, its main provisions remained essentially unchanged despite opposition from some parts of the aviation community. On June 16, 1995, DOT released a report on the issue and announced its conclusion that, on balance, the rule was currently beneficial.
19951220: An American Airlines 757 crashed into a mountain while attempting an approach to Cali, Colombia, killing 159 of the 163 persons aboard. The Colombian accident report cited the probable cause as errors by the flightcrew, who had entered incorrect data into their Flight Management System (FMS). Alerted by the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), the crew tried to pull up but failed to retract the speedbrakes. In response to the crash and to National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, FAA undertook efforts aimed at improvements in FMSs and their use as well as in charting and pilot training. The agency began evaluations of possible regulatory requirements for: automatic speedbrake retraction for situations requiring maximum thrust and climb; visual “angle-ofattack” indicators to aid pilots in safely obtaining maximum climb; and Enhanced GPWS (see November 6, 1996).
19961220: President Clinton announced the selection of Rodney E. Slater to be Secretary of Transportation during the President’s second term. A former chairman of the Arkansas State Highway Commission, Slater had been Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration since 1993. Clinton also revealed the nomination of the current Secretary of Transportation, Federico Peña, to be Secretary of Energy. Peña’s resignation from the DOT post became effective on February 14, 1997, the same day that Slater became Secretary.
19991220: FAA started controlling arriving and departing air traffic in El Paso , Texas, with the new Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) air traffic controller workstations. This was the first component to become operational as part of a phased strategy to deploy this state-of-the-art, full-service system nationwide. Controllers and technicians at this West Texas TRACON successfully integrated the new workstations, featuring high-resolution color monitors, with the existing automation system. (See August 3, 1999; January 12, 2000.)
20011220: FAA decreased the no fly zone around Reagan National Airport. As a result of the change, Suburban Airport in Anne Arundel County, Freeway Airport in Prince George’s County and Maryland Airport in Charles County, Maryland reopened for normal operations. (See December 6, 2001; January 5, 2002.)
20051220: FAA announced the inception of a new navigation procedure at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The Required Navigation Performance (RNP) initiative took advantage of a plane’s onboard navigation capability to fly a more precise flight path into the airport. The Reagan National RNP approach to Runway 19 allowed planes to land with considerably lower cloud ceilings and visibility than previously required. The procedure was used by any operator who could meet specific FAA requirements for aircraft navigation performance and pilot training. Alaska Airlines, the first air carrier authorized by FAA to use the RNP procedures at Reagan National, had pioneered the use of RNP procedures at Juneau and other airports in Alaska. Besides introducing the new procedure at Reagan National, FAA authorized RNP procedures at Juneau, Alaska; San Francisco and Palm Springs, California; Portland, Oregon; and Hailey (Sun Valley), Idaho. (See July 25, 2003; July 2006.)
20081220: Continental Airlines Flight 1404, on a scheduled flight from Denver to Houston, crashed while attempting to takeoff from runway 34L. During its takeoff roll, the aircraft veered to the left, exited the runway, went down a ravine, and caught fire. Thirty-eight occupants were injured, 5 critically.
20101220: FAA launched a new web-based job application system called the automated vacancy information access tool for online referral (AVIATOR). The system, which replaced the automated staffing and application process (ASAP) used by the agency since 2005, provided an automated application process and an instant notification of application submissions, and stored applications for future use.
20211220: FAA granted a five-year launch site operator license to Spaceport Camden in Camden County, Georgia, for small-rocket launches to low Earth orbit. The spaceport became the thirteenth licensed spaceport in the United States. (See May 5, 2020.)
20231220: FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker announced he had established a three-member panel, led by former National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind, to “examine how the latest science on sleep needs and fatigue considerations could be applied to controller work requirements and scheduling.” He asked the panel for their recommendations in six weeks. The other two members of the panel were Charles Czeisler, chief and senior physician, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, head of the NASA Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory.