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FAA suspends pair after boy radios pilots at JFK – Yahoo! News
Posted by: | CommentsBy DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer David B. Caruso, Associated Press Writer – Wed Mar 3, 6:21 pm ETNEW YORK – As planes waited to take off from Kennedy Airport, the jargon-packed radio chatter between controllers and pilots was interrupted by a young boy's voice: “JetBlue 171, cleared for takeoff.”An air traffic controller who brought his son to work let the youngster read a few routine messages to pilots — and then brought in another child the next day — in an incident that amused pilots but not the Federal Aviation Administration.Authorities suspended the controller and a supervisor Wednesday after a recording of the radio calls was posted on the Internet, then reported by a Boston television station.
via FAA suspends pair after boy radios pilots at JFK – Yahoo! News.
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Posted by: | CommentsFAA seeks public comment on pilot certification
09-Feb-2010
As part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Call to Action to enhance airline safety following last year’s accident in Buffalo, NY, the FAA is asking for recommendations to improve pilot qualification and training requirements.
“Our nation’s airlines should have the best-trained and best-prepared pilots in the cockpit,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We must build on the current pilot certification system and make it even stronger.”
“Experience is not measured by flight time alone,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “Pilots need to have quality training and experience appropriate to the mission to be ready to handle any situation they encounter.”
The public will have 60 days to comment on basic pilot certification in four key areas:
* Should all pilots who transport passengers be required to hold an Air Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate with the appropriate aircraft category, class and type ratings, which would raise the required flight hours for these pilots to 1,500 hours?
* Should the FAA permit academic credit in lieu of required flight hours or experience?
* Should the FAA establish a new commercial pilot certificate endorsement that would address concerns about the operational experience of newly hired commercial pilots, require additional flight hours and possibly credit academic training?
* Would an air carrier-specific authorization on an existing pilot certificate improve safety?
Pilots panic over plastic | General Aviation News
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Pilots panic over plastic
Posted by Meg Godlewski · February 4, 2010
plasticDid the news that paper pilot certificates are about to become obsolete catch you by surprise? Our recent story (Time running out to get new plastic certificates) generated several telephone calls from readers who were just learning about the change.
But the change shouldn’t have come as a surprise, says Ian Gregor, communications manager for the FAA’s Western-Pacific Region, noting the agency first published a paper to plastic Notice of Proposed Rule Making Jan. 5, 2007, while the final rule was published about a year ago, on Feb. 28, 2008.
Gregor noted that the FAA website explains the paper to plastic rule and several aviation publications and websites, including General Aviation News, have published stories about the change.
“Additionally, the FAA mails pilots FAA Safety and other publications, which have contained numerous articles and notices about the change, he said. “If there are pilots who are not aware of this deadline, it is most likely those who are not current and or who may not have provided FAA with their current mailing addresses so they can receive relevant FAA publications.
AOPA Online: Sport pilot changes take effect April 2
Posted by: | CommentsSport pilot changes take effect April 2
By Sarah Brown
The FAA has finalized revisions to the sport pilot regulations that will expand the operating window for sport pilots in mountainous terrain and allow Part 141 training programs to use light sport aircraft, among other changes.
The agency proposed 22 regulatory changes in 2008 in an effort to align the requirements for sport pilots and instructors with those for other certificates. AOPA supported some of the changes, disputed others, and suggested further modifications. The FAA considered comments from AOPA, the Experimental Aviation Association, National Association of Flight Instructors, Aero Sports Connection, and many pilots and has published a final rule that will go into effect April 2.
