Federal Aviation Administration

Type: Government Agency
On the web: http://www.faa.gov
Employees: 48,799

Nobody goes up, up, and away until the folks at the FAA say it's OK. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the government agency responsible for overseeing air transportation in the US. An arm of the US Department of Transportation, the FAA focuses on air transportation safety, including the enforcement of safety standards for aircraft manufacturing, operation, and maintenance. It also manages air traffic in the US through a network of towers, overseeing more than 50,000 flights per day. It maintains radar systems, communication equipment, and air traffic security systems. The FAA operates on about $15 billion a year.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending September, 2007:
Sales: $2,147.5M

Officers:
Acting Administrator: Robert A. (Bobby) Sturgell
COO: Henry P. (Hank) Krakowski
CFO: Ramesh K. Punwani

Agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, charged with regulating air commerce, promoting aviation safety, and overseeing the operation of airports, including air traffic control.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA was established by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, though its origins began with the Air Commerce Act of 1926. Air Traffic Control (ATC) is the FAA's most visible function. The FAA also provides airport construction grants and, through the Federal Aviation Regulations, regulates many aspects of aviation, including airport safety and security; the design, manufacture, and maintenance of aircraft and spare parts; and airline operations, minimum equipment, crew qualifications, training, flight schools, and repair stations.

Air Traffic Control ensures that aircraft are safely separated from each other and from obstacles. Some 400 ATC towers handle aircraft on takeoff and initial climb until about five miles out. Approach control then handles transition to higher altitude, where en route centers handle line-haul flight. As aircraft descend toward their destinations, approach control again handles the transition, and towers handle about the last five miles to landing.

The FAA does not prescribe how aircraft are designed or built. Instead, the FAA requires aircraft to meet certain criteria, such as handling characteristics, stability, and backup systems. Manufacturers submit designs to the FAA. If the FAA approves a design, a "finding of compliance" authorizes production of prototype aircraft. Extensive test flights are then conducted to identify unanticipated problems and demonstrate that the design actually works as intended. If test flights eventually are successful, the FAA issues a type certificate to the manufacturer, who then must develop processes to ensure that production will precisely replicate the approved prototype. Only then, with a production certificate, can production begin—with continued FAA oversight as long as the aircraft is manufactured. If problems emerge later, the FAA issues airworthiness directives, which require specific corrections.

Prospective airlines submit detailed manuals for operations, maintenance, and training to show precisely how they will operate safely, and must document how their manuals satisfy every safety regulation. If the manuals are approved, airlines still must conduct "proving flights" before receiving a FAA operating certificate. The FAA also regulates minimum initial qualifications and recurrent training for pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians, and dispatchers; requires certain equipment on aircraft; sets weather and equipment standards for different types of landings; and so on. Airline pilots are "rated" (licensed) for each type of aircraft they fly.

The FAA assures continued airline safety by assigning a principal operations inspector, a principal maintenance inspector, and a principal avionics inspector to each air carrier. Within their respective domains, principal inspectors must know everything about their carrier. FAA safety inspectors around the country support principal inspectors with daily oversight.

Bibliography

Komons, Nick A. Bonfires to Beacons. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978. A detailed history of early government involvement in aviation safety.

Rochester, Stuart I. Takeoff At Mid-Century. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976. A history of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958.

—Robert Matthews

Half a century after Wilbur and Orville Wright flew an airplane for twelve seconds in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903 — becoming the first U.S. residents to successfully fly a powered aircraft — Congress established the Federal Aviation Agency, later renamed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C.A. § 106). Under the act, the FAA became responsible for all the following: [bl]Regulating air commerce to promote its development and safety and to meet national defense requirements

Controlling the use of navigable airspace in the United States and regulating both civil and military operations in that airspace in the interest of safety and efficiency

Promoting and developing civil aeronautics, which is the science of dealing with the operation of civil, or nonmilitary, aircraft

Consolidating research and development with respect to air navigation facilities

Installing and operating air navigation facilities

Developing and operating a common system of air traffic control and navigation for civil and military aircraft

Developing and implementing programs and regulations to control aircraft noise, sonic booms, and other environmental effects of civil aviation

A component agency of the Department of Transportation ever since the Department of Transportation Act was passed in 1967 (49 U.S.C.A. § 1651), the FAA engages in a variety of activities to fulfill its responsibilities. One vital activity is safety regulation. The FAA issues and enforces rules, regulations, and minimum standards relating to the manufacture, operation, and maintenance of aircraft. In the interest of safety, the FAA also rates and certifies people working on aircraft, including medical personnel, and certifies airports that serve air carriers. The agency performs flight inspections of air navigation facilities in the United States and, as required, abroad. It also enforces regulations under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (49 U.S.C.A. app. 1801) as they apply to air shipments. In 1994, the FAA employed 2,500 safety inspectors, who oversaw 7,300 planes operated by scheduled airlines, 200,000 other planes, 4,700 repair stations, 650 pilot training schools, and 190 maintenance schools. FAA inspectors use a six-inch-thick book called the Airworthiness Inspector's Handbook in their work. They have significant power, including the ability to delay or ground aircraft deemed non-airworthy and to suspend the license of pilots and other flight personnel who break FAA rules.

Another primary activity of the FAA is to manage airspace and air traffic, with the goal being to ensure the safe and efficient use of the United States' navigable airspace. To meet this goal, the agency operates a network of airport traffic control towers, air route traffic control centers, and flight service stations. It develops air traffic rules and regulations and allocates the use of airspace. It also provides for the security control of air traffic to meet national defense requirements.

The FAA also oversees the creation, operation, maintenance, and quality of federal visual and electronic aids to air navigation. The agency operates and maintains voice and data communications equipment, radar facilities, computer systems, and visual display equipment at flight service stations, airport traffic control towers, and air route traffic control centers.

Research, engineering, and development activities of the agency help provide the systems, procedures, facilities, and devices needed for a safe and efficient system of air navigation and air traffic control to meet the needs of civil aviation and the air defense system. The FAA also performs aeromedical research to apply knowledge gained from its work and the work of others to the safety and promotion of civil aviation and the health, safety, and efficiency of agency employees. The agency further supports the development and testing of improved aircraft, engines, propellers, and appliances.

The FAA is authorized to test and evaluate aviation systems, subsystems, equipment, devices, materials, concepts, and procedures at any phase in their development, from conception to acceptance and implementation. The agency may assign independent testing at key decision points in the development cycle of these elements.

The agency maintains a national plan of airport requirements and administers a grant program for the development of public-use airports, to ensure safety and to meet current and future capacity needs. The FAA also evaluates the environmental effects of airport development; administers an airport noise compatibility program; develops standards and technical guidance on airport planning, design, safety, and operation; and provides grants to assist public agencies in airport planning and development.

The FAA registers aircraft and records documents related to the title or interest in aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, appliances, and spare parts.

Under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 and the International Aviation Facilities Act (49 U.S.C.A. app. 1151), the agency promotes aviation safety and civil aviation abroad by exchanging aeronautical information with foreign aviation authorities; certifying foreign repair stations, aviators, and mechanics; negotiating bilateral airworthiness agreements to facilitate the import and export of aircraft and components; and providing technical assistance and training in all areas of the agency's expertise. The agency provides technical representation at international conferences, including those of the International Civil Aviation Organization and other international organizations.

Finally, the agency conducts miscellaneous activities such as administering the aviation insurance and aircraft loan guarantee programs; assigning priority and allocating materials for civil aircraft and civil aviation operations; developing specifications for the preparation of aeronautical charts; publishing current information on airways and airport services and issuing technical publications for the improvement of safety in flight, airport planning, and design; and serving as the executive administration for the operation and maintenance of the Department of Transportation's automated payroll and personnel systems.

No stranger to controversy, the FAA has been at the center of a variety of national debates during its existence. In the early 1980s, eleven thousand air traffic controllers went on strike to protest stressful working conditions. When President Ronald Reagan ordered them fired, the FAA pledged to replace many of them by overhauling and modernizing the system that guides planes from takeoff to landing. Fifteen years later, some critics of the FAA contended that the agency had yet to create a modern air traffic control system, causing delays that cost the airline industry up to $5 billion a year. Speaking on the subject in January 1996, Senator William S. Cohen (R-Me.), a member of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, said, "The FAA is a victim of its own poor management. If the agency devoted more time to managing itself and less time to defending its deficiencies, the air traffic control system would have been replaced years ago."

In the 1980s, the FAA supported drug-testing for commercial airline pilots and air traffic controllers. Though drug-testing is a form of search, implicating Fourth Amendment concerns, these drug tests are routinely upheld as a permissible invasion of privacy in light of the public safety concerns associated with air travel.

With U.S. air traffic increasing by almost 130 percent from 1978 to 1994, fatal aircraft accidents also increased. Critics of the FAA say that the agency failed to increase its number of inspectors at a rate comparable to the rate of growth in air traffic; in fact, the agency had only 12 percent more inspectors in 1994 than it did in 1978. The FAA also came under scrutiny for the safety of smaller aircraft after a succession of fatal commuter jet crashes in the 1980s and early to mid-1990s. In 1988, for example, an AVAir plane crashed in Raleigh, North Carolina, killing twelve people. In the two months before the accident, AVAir had another accident, filed for bankruptcy, shut down, and restarted. In that time, AVAir's FAA inspector never visited the airline's headquarters, observed a pilot check ride, or met the training director.

Together with Federico F. Peña, secretary of the U.S. Transportation Department, David R. Hinson, administrator of the FAA, set what he called an ambitious new goal at a January 1995 aviation safety summit: zero accidents. In September of 1995, he defended his agency on the safety issue by saying that of the 173 safety initiatives developed at the summit, more than two-thirds were already complete. Calling perfect safety a shared responsibility, Hinson asked for a "hands-on, eyes-open commitment of every person who designs, builds, flies, maintains and regulates aircraft." The same month, the FAA announced plans to train air traffic controllers with computer simulators. In early 1996, the federal government enacted new rules intended to make small commuter turboprop planes as safe as big jets. As part of the change, the FAA began requiring small airlines to follow the same rules for training and operations as do major airlines.

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"FAA" redirects here. For other uses, see FAA (disambiguation).

Federal Aviation Administration
Seal of the Federal Aviation Administration
Agency overview
Formed	August 23, 1958
Preceding agency	Civil Aeronautics Administration
Jurisdiction	United States Government
Annual budget	15,956 million USD (FY2010)
Agency executive	Randy Babbitt, Administrator
Parent agency	United States Department of Transportation
Website
Official website
Footnotes
[1][2]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation with authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S. The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 created the group under the name "Federal Aviation Agency", and adopted its current name in 1967 when it became a part of the United States Department of Transportation.

The Federal Aviation Administration's major roles include:

• Regulating U.S. commercial space transportation
• Regulating air navigation facilities' geometry and Flight inspection standards
• Encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology
• Issuing, suspending, or revoking pilot certificates
• Regulating civil aviation to promote safety, especially through local offices called Flight Standards District Offices
• Developing and operating a system of air traffic control and navigation for both civil and military aircraft
• Researching and developing the National Airspace System and civil aeronautics
• Developing and carrying out programs to control aircraft noise and other environmental effects of civil aviation

Contents 1 Activities 2 History 3 List of FAA Administrators 4 FAA process 4.1 Designated Engineering Representative 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Activities

In December 2000, an organization within the FAA called the Air Traffic Organization^[3], or ATO, was set up by presidential executive order. This became the Air Navigation Service Provider for the airspace of the United States and for the New York (Atlantic) and Oakland (Pacific) oceanic areas. It is a full member of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization.

The FAA issues a number of awards to holders of its licenses. Among these are demonstrated proficiencies as a mechanic, an instructor, a 50-year aviator, or as a safe pilot. The latter, the FAA "Wings Program", provides a series of ten badges for pilots who have undergone several hours of training since their last award. A higher level can be claimed each year. For more information see "FAA Advisory Circular 61-91H".

The FAA exercises surprise Red Team drills on national airports annually.

History

Former FAA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

The Air Commerce Act of May 20, 1926, is the cornerstone of the federal government's regulation of civil aviation. This landmark legislation was passed at the urging of the aviation industry, whose leaders believed the airplane could not reach its full commercial potential without federal action to improve and maintain safety standards. The Act charged the Secretary of Commerce with fostering air commerce, issuing and enforcing air traffic rules, licensing pilots, certifying aircraft, establishing airways, and operating and maintaining aids to air navigation. A new aeronautics branch of the Department of Commerce assumed primary responsibility for aviation oversight.

In fulfilling its civil aviation responsibilities, the Department of Commerce initially concentrated on such functions as safety regulations and the certification of pilots and aircraft. It took over the building and operation of the nation's system of lighted airways, a task that had been begun by the Post Office Department. The Department of Commerce improved aeronautical radio communications and introduced radio beacons as an effective aid to air navigation.

The Aeronautics Branch was renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce in 1934 to reflect its enhanced status within the Department. As commercial flying increased, the Bureau encouraged a group of airlines to establish the first three centers for providing air traffic control (ATC) along the airways. In 1936, the Bureau itself took over the centers and began to expand the ATC system. The pioneer air traffic controllers used maps, blackboards, and mental calculations to ensure the safe separation of aircraft traveling along designated routes between cities.

In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Act transferred the federal civil aviation responsibilities from the Commerce Department to a new independent agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The legislation also expanded the government's role by giving them the authority and the power to regulate airline fares and to determine the routes that air carriers would serve.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt split the authority into two agencies in 1940, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). CAA was responsible for ATC, airman and aircraft certification, safety enforcement, and airway development. CAB was entrusted with safety regulation, accident investigation, and economic regulation of the airlines. The CAA was part of the Department of Commerce. The CAB was an independent federal agency.

On the eve of America's entry into World War II, CAA began to extend its ATC responsibilities to takeoff and landing operations at airports. This expanded role eventually became permanent after the war. The application of radar to ATC helped controllers in their drive to keep abreast of the postwar boom in commercial air transportation. In 1946, meanwhile, Congress gave CAA the added task of administering the federal-aid airport program, the first peacetime program of financial assistance aimed exclusively at promoting development of the nation's civil airports.

The approaching era of jet travel, and a series of midair collisions (most notable was the 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision), prompted passage of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. This legislation gave the CAA's functions to a new independent body, the Federal Aviation Agency. The act transferred air safety regulation from the CAB to the new FAA, and also gave the FAA sole responsibility for a common civil-military system of air navigation and air traffic control. The FAA's first administrator, Elwood R. Quesada, was a former Air Force general and adviser to President Eisenhower.

The same year witnessed the birth of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), created in the wake of the Soviet launching of the first artificial satellite. NASA assumed NACA's role of aeronautical research while achieving world leadership in space technology and exploration.

In 1967, a new U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) combined major federal responsibilities for air and surface transport. FAA's name changed to the Federal Aviation Administration as it became one of several agencies within DOT. At the same time, a new National Transportation Safety Board took over the CAB's role of investigating aviation accidents.

The FAA gradually assumed additional functions. The hijacking epidemic of the 1960s had already brought the agency into the field of civil aviation security. In response to the hijackings on September 11, 2001, this responsibility is now primarily taken by the Department of Homeland Security. The FAA became more involved with the environmental aspects of aviation in 1968 when it received the power to set aircraft noise standards. Legislation in 1970 gave the agency management of a new airport aid program and certain added responsibilities for airport safety. During the 1960s and 1970s the FAA also started to regulate high altitude (over 500 feet) kite and balloon flying.

By the mid-1970s, the FAA had achieved a semi-automated air traffic control system using both radar and computer technology. This system required enhancement to keep pace with air traffic growth, however, especially after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 phased out the CAB's economic regulation of the airlines. A nationwide strike by the air traffic controllers union in 1981 forced temporary flight restrictions but failed to shut down the airspace system. During the following year, the agency unveiled a new plan for further automating its air traffic control facilities, but progress proved disappointing. In 1994, the FAA shifted to a more step-by-step approach that has provided controllers with advanced equipment.^[4]

In 1979 the Congress authorized the FAA to work with major commercial airports to define noise pollution contours and investigate the feasibility of noise mitigation by residential retrofit programs. Throughout the 1980s these charters were implemented.

In the 1990s, satellite technology received increased emphasis in the FAA's development programs as a means to improvements in communications, navigation, and airspace management. In 1995, the agency assumed responsibility for safety oversight of commercial space transportation, a function begun eleven years before by an office within DOT headquarters. The FAA was responsible for the decision to ground flights after the September 11 attacks.

FAA ordered its inspectors March 18, 2008 to reconfirm that airlines are complying with federal rules after revelations that Southwest Airlines flew dozens of aircraft without certain mandatory inspections.^[5]

Many experts on the FAA have been critical of what they perceive as fundamental problems with the FAA in conducting oversight on the airlines and pilots, predicated on the belief, as expressed by the FAA itself, that both the airlines and pilots are their customers. Retired NASA Office of Inspector General Senior Special Agent Joseph Gutheinz, who formerly was a Special Agent with both the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and FAA Security, is one of the most outspoken critics of the FAA. Rather than commend the FAA for imposing a 10.2 million dollar fine against Southwest Airlines for its failure to conduct mandatory inspections in 2008 he was quoted as saying the following in an Associated Press story: "Penalties against airlines that violate FAA directives should be stiffer. At $25,000 per violation, (which is how the 10.2 million dollar figure was reached) Gutheinz said, airlines can justify rolling the dice and taking the chance on getting caught. He also said the FAA is often too quick to bend to pressure from airlines and pilots." ^{[6] [7] [8]}

List of FAA Administrators

Elwood Richard Quesada (1958-1961) Najeeb Halaby (1961-1965) William F. McKee (1965-1968) John H. Shaffer (1969-1973) Alexander Butterfield (1973-1975) John L. McLucas (1975-1977) Langhorne Bond (1977-1981) J. Lynn Helms (1981-1984) Donald D. Engen (1984-1987)

T. Allan McArtor (1987-1989) James B. Busey (1989-1991) Thomas C. Richards (1992-1993) David R. Hinson (1993-1996) Jane Garvey (1997-2002) Marion Blakey (September 12, 2002 - September 13, 2007) Robert A. Sturgell (Acting) (September 14, 2007-January 15, 2009) Lynne Osmus (Acting) (January 16, 2009-May 31, 2009) Randy Babbitt (June 1, 2009-present)

FAA process

Designated Engineering Representative

A Designated Engineering Representative (DER) is an engineer who is appointed to act on behalf of a Company or as an individual Consultant^[9].

• Company DERs act on behalf of their employer and may only approve, or recommend approval, of technical data to the FAA for this company.
• Consultant DERs are appointed to act as an independent DER to approve or recommend approval of technical data to the FAA.

See also

• Civil Aviation Authority

References

1. ^ F.A.A. Chief to Lead Industry Group - New York Times
2. ^ FAA Chief To Become Aerospace Lobbyist - washingtonpost.com
3. ^ Air Traffic Organization Official website
4. ^ FAA History from official website
5. ^ FAA looking to see if airlines made safety repairs
6. ^ Southwest Faces Big Penalty on Plane Cracks. Associated Press, March 7, 2008.
7. ^ Military jets rest while go! pilots stay silent. Associated Press, March 23, 2008.
8. ^ Deaths on planes give passengers an up-close view of human frailty. Associated Press, February 29, 2008.
9. ^ esignated Engineering Representative (DER)

External links

• FAA
• FAA Aviation News
• ATO News
• FOCUS FAA
• Jane's Airport news on user fees, April 2006

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