Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19570213: CAA held ground-breaking ceremonies for construction of an expanded Aeronautical Center at Oklahoma City. Financed by the city with a $10,665,000 bond issue, the new buildings replaced temporary construction, mostly World War II metal barracks. CAA ultimately concentrated the shop and warehousing activities of the four continental regions and many of its new training programs at the enlarged facility. (See March 15, 1946.)
19580213: The Civil Aeronautics Board issued an amendment to the Civil Air Regulations that reaffirmed and clarified the authority and responsibility of the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s Administrator in the designation and use of restricted airspace areas. A concurrent amendment recognized that under defense-emergency circumstances it might be necessary for the military to deviate from the CARs. But all other military flights, such as training , were to be conducted under the terms of a waiver issued by the Administrator. The action became effective April l.
19660213: AN FAA-developed mobile air traffic control tower began operating at the Lockheed Air Terminal, Burbank, Calif., within 40 hours after a fire had destroyed the Lockheed tower.
19730213: Ceremonies at the Memphis Air Traffic Control Center celebrated the center’s switch over to computer processing of flight-plan data, completing Phase One of the NAS En Route Stage A, FAA’s decade-long program to automate and computerize the nation’s en route air traffic control system (see September 26, 1964). With the new computer installation at Memphis, all twenty ARTCCs in the contiguous 48 states gained an automatic capability to collect and distribute information about each aircraft’s course and altitude to all the sector controllers along its flight path. Pilots still had to file flight plans at flight service stations and military operations offices, but now computers would handle the centers’ “bookkeeping functions” of assigning and printing out controller flight strips. The new computers also had the ability to record and distribute any changes registered in aircraft flight plans en route. The system eventually tied in with the Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS III) units then being installed at major airports (see October 4, 1971 and February 15, 1973). Phase Two of the en route automation program was still under way; it would provide controllers at the twenty centers with new radar displays that would show such vital flight information as altitude and speed directly on the screen. (See February 18, 1970 and June 14, 1973.)
19840213: In a speech to the National Press Club, Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole outlined an agenda for aviation that included a safety review such as she had ordered for the other transportation modes. Dole announced that FAA would step up surveillance of airlines and other elements of aviation (see March 4, 1984), and that the agency’s inspector workforce would be increased by 25 percent. She also stated that she had recommended Donald D. Engen as FAA’s next Administrator (see April 10, 1984).
19900213: The Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS) began operating, allowing private pilots to receive weather briefings and file flight plans from home computers. An FAA contractor provided the service free to civilian pilots and students. DUATS took over most of the functions of the Interim Voice Response System (IVRS), which FAA discontinued on September 30, 1990. (See March 14, 1984.)
19960213: FAA announced that it and Europe’s Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) had developed a common set of certification standards for newly designed small airplanes. The achievement was part of an ongoing effort to reduce or eliminate burdensome duplicative requirements through harmonization of international standards.
20020213: FAA issued an emergency rule enabling private flying to resume under new strict security procedures at three airports in suburban Maryland outside Washington, DC, which had been largely shut down since September 11, 2001. The reinstated airports were: College Park, Potomac, and Washington Executive/Hyde. (See January 18, 2002; February 17, 2002.)
20130213: FAA and the Spanish Aviation and Security Agency signed a declaration of cooperation to help develop alternative aviation fuels. (See December 1, 2011; December 2, 2014.)
20130213: American Airlines and US Airways agreed to a merger that would create the world’s largest airline. (See November 29, 2011; July 12, 2013.)
20140213: A federal judge threw out Santa Monica’s lawsuit to wrest control of its airport from the U.S. government. Santa Monica sued in October 2013 to free itself from a 1948 agreement that transferred ownership of the property and its 5,000-foot runway back to the city after World War II on the condition that it remain an airport unless the government approved a change in use. The judge ruled Santa Monica had 12 years under the Quiet Title Act to sue to gain unconditional ownership, but that time had expired by 1960. The judge’s decision threw out another contention that the government’s control of the airport amounted to an illegal taking of municipal property without just compensation. The judge noted the city failed to first seek compensation in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. On March 25, the Santa Monica City Council voted 6-0 in favor of a plan to take control of the city-owned portion of Santa Monica Airport, and voted to “scale back flight operations, cut the 5,000-foot runway by 2,000 feet, and reduce aviation related services.” The Council was open to repaying a $250,000 grant and prepared for additional legal battles to take control over the site and its use. FAA repeated its position that Santa Monica was required to operate the airport unless the agency granted a change.
20200213: Airbus announced it had received joint type certification from the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its A330-800.