Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19330323: Enactment of legislation by the State of Georgia meant that all of the 48 States had laws dealing with aeronautics (see August 1, 1928, and March 1946). Georgia’s new law included a requirement that all airmen and aircraft operating within the state have Federal licenses. This provision was included in most, but not all, of the other state aeronautical laws (see December 1, 1941).
19390323: The Civil Aeronautics Authority submitted to Congress its final report on a detailed nationwide survey of airports mandated by the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938. The report indicated that the number of municipal and commercial airports had increased from 823 at the end of 1927 to 1,833 at the end of 1938, and that Federal relief programs had been responsible for most airport development since 1933.
The Authority recommended that the development and maintenance of an adequate system of airports (including seaplane bases) should be recognized as a matter of national concern and a proper object of Federal expenditure. Currently, the Authority believed that airports should receive $100 million of regular public-works or work-relief funds, as well as $25 million to increase the Federal share of joint Federal-local projects. Important airport projects should also be eligible for special funding in the form of grants to state authorities. Plans for the location and development of any airports benefiting from a Federal contribution should be approved by the Federal agency responsible for civil airways. The Federal government should not contribute to the cost of maintaining non-Federal airports; however, the Civil Aeronautics Authority might, as funds permitted, assume the cost of operating airport lighting equipment or other air navigation facilities as a part of the cost of operating the Federal airway system.
19620323: FAA type-certificated North American Aviation’s Sabreliner (Model 265), an executive type jet aircraft. It thus became the first executive-type aircraft with twin turbojet engines to be designed, developed, and certificated in the United States.
19780323: In response to a Federal court order (see June 2, 1976), FAA issued draft Environmental Impact Statements concerning the operation of Washington National and Dulles International Airports and published a notice of proposed policy for these airports. After comments on this proposal had been considered, Secretary of Transportation Neil Goldschmidt announced a new policy for National Airport on August 15, 1980. The new policy included: a 17 million cap on the number of passengers permitted at National per year; retaining the 60 slots per hour provided by the High Density Rule (see June 1, 1969), while reducing the share of slots for Part 121 air carriers from 40 to 36; prohibiting all departures between 10:30 pm and 7:00 am, and all arrivals between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am; lifting the ban on 2- and 3-engine widebody jets; and extending the nonstop service perimeter rule from a radius of 650 to 1,000 miles, with no exceptions (see April 24, 1966).
The new policy was scheduled to take effect on January 5, 1981, but its implementation was delayed. Because Congress attached a rider to DOT’s fiscal 1981 appropriations act that prohibited FAA from reducing the number of Part 121 airline slots until April 26, 1981, FAA decided to postpone the entire policy until after that date. Shortly after his inauguration, President Ronald Reagan pushed the effective date back again by his February 17, 1981, executive order that postponed final approval of pending regulations until the issuing agencies had reconsidered their actions. Because of this order, the new Secretary of Transportation, Drew Lewis, on March 25 ordered a review of the Goldschmidt policy and postponed its effective date until October 25, 1981. (See November 3, 1980, and December 6, 1981.)
20050323: FAA published a final rule in the Federal Register regarding the Non-Hub Pilot Program and related changes to Part 158 mandated by Vision 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act.
20070323: FAA dedicated its newest air traffic control facility in Guam. With oversight responsibility for nearly 200,000 square miles of airspace in the South Pacific, the new Guam Center would consolidate a number of air traffic functions in a single location. It would house en route and terminal radar air traffic control, a new air traffic control tower for the local international airport, and a technical operations division.
20120323: Manufacturer Terrafugia flew the first production prototype of its flying car, Transition, from its base in Plattsburgh, NY. The company successfully conducted tests of initial drive and conversion to an aircraft of its two-seat light sport aircraft – designed as a street legal aircraft that can be driven safely on the highway. During the eight-minute flight the aircraft reached an altitude of 1,400 feet. The proof-of-concept Transition took to the skies in 2009 and completed 28 flights. (See June 2010.)
20200323: FAA approved certain requirements for passenger flights to Puerto Rico to help with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All scheduled and unscheduled commercial air carrier flights had to land at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU) where public health officials screened arriving passengers. All domestic and foreign general aviation and charter flights arriving from a location outside Puerto Rico were required to land first at SJU, Isla Grande Airport (SIG), or Rafael Hernandez Airport (BQN) for passenger screening before continuing to their final destinations. The restrictions did not apply to air cargo or maintenance flights into Puerto Rico.
20220323: A jury in federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas, acquitted former Boeing 737 MAX Chief Technical Pilot Mark Forkner on felony charges of deceiving FAA about a key flight-control system involving 737 Max jets. The jury cleared him of criminal charges of four counts of wire fraud brought by the U.S. Justice Department. (See October 14, 2021; September 22, 2022).