Federal Aviation Administration

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Boeing Supplier Used Dawn Liquid Soap as Lubricant

It's one of the anomalies that turned up in an FAA audit

(Newser) - After a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines jet, the FAA took a closer look at the Boeing manufacturing process for the 737 Max. The New York Times has details from the six-week audit, which flagged "dozens of problems" at Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems. However, two in...

FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days to Come Up With Safety Plan
FAA Gives Boeing
a 90-Day Deadline

FAA Gives Boeing a 90-Day Deadline

'Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements'

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration is giving Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to fix quality problems and meet safety standards for building new planes. The agency said Wednesday that the directive follows meetings with Boeing CEO David Calhoun and other top company officials at FAA headquarters in...

Boeing 737 Max 9s Will Start Returning to the Skies

FAA approves inspection process to clear grounded planes

(Newser) - Despite the ongoing scrutiny of Boeing aircraft following a panel blowing off an Alaska Airlines plane midflight earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday opened up a path for the company's 737 Max 9s to return to service. The FAA grounded 171 planes after the Alaska Airlines...

This Is the Least Surprising Lawsuit of 2024

Complaint filed on behalf of passengers who were on Alaska Airlines flight when door plug blew off

(Newser) - There was bound to be fallout from the Alaska Airlines plane that lost a door plug last week , and the first of it is here in the form of a lawsuit. As Axios reports, a Seattle firm has filed a proposed class-action complaint Thursday on behalf of six passengers and...

If You Think You've Had a Scary Flight, This May Beat It

Alaska Airlines plane makes emergency landing in Oregon after panel flies off, leaving huge hole

(Newser) - A flight from Oregon took a frightening turn as the weekend kicked off, though no one was hurt. KING 5 reports that the Alaska Airlines plane out of Portland International Airport on Friday afternoon—a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet headed to Ontario, California—was forced to turn around and...

FAA Nominee Withdraws
After 19 Months,
the FAA Has a Leader
UPDATED

After 19 Months, the FAA Has a Leader

Michael Whitaker confirmed in 98-0 Senate vote

(Newser) - After 19 months, there's finally somebody in charge at the Federal Aviation Administration. Michael Whitaker, a deputy FAA administrator during the Obama administration, was confirmed to a five-year term running the FAA in a 98-0 Senate vote Tuesday. Whitaker, who has held senior roles at several airlines, had the...

YouTuber Crashed Plane for the Clicks: FAA
YouTuber Admits
Crashing Plane for Clicks
UPDATED

YouTuber Admits Crashing Plane for Clicks

Former Olympian Trevor Jacob agrees to plead guilty to federal charge

(Newser) - Former Olympian snowboarder Trevor Jacob has admitted that he crashed his light aircraft in California's Los Padres National Forest to get views on YouTube. In a plea deal announced Thursday, the 29-year-old said the video was part of a product sponsorship deal, the BBC reports. In a press release...

More Fallout for SpaceX's Rocket Launch

Environmental groups aren't happy and are suing the FAA over Starship's launch

(Newser) - Wildlife and environmental groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday over SpaceX’s launch last month of its giant rocket from Texas. SpaceX’s Starship soared 24 miles high before exploding over the Gulf of Mexico on April 20. The rocket's self-destruct system caused the nearly 400-foot rocket...

US Opts Not to Shoot New Balloon Out of Sky

But military is watching a new mystery object that drifted over Hawaii, is now headed to Mexico

(Newser) - After a mysterious spate of balloon sightings earlier this year, a new entry has made its way into the mix. NBC News reports that the US military has been tailing a new balloon since late last week that drifted over parts of Hawaii, though officials indicate it didn't fly...

Watchdog: Engineers Urged Grounding 737 Max Faster

Inspector general's report says FAA bosses wanted more data

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration rejected the recommendation of engineers to immediately ground Boeing's 737 Max after two fatal crashes, preferring to wait for more data, a new inspector general's report says. It was March 13, 2019, three days after the second crash, before the airliner was grounded, CNN...

Southwest Resumes Flying After Nationwide Grounding

Tech glitch briefly kept planes from flying, but now many flights are delayed

(Newser) - Southwest has resumed flights after all were briefly grounded Tuesday morning because of a tech glitch. Those flying on the airline can expect delays, however: Roughly 40% were behind schedule as of noon, reports USA Today . The company's explanation for the snafu: "Early this morning, a vendor-supplied firewall...

After Safety Summit, FAA Issues 'Call to Action'

Recent incidents should serve as a 'wake-up call,' authorities say

(Newser) - Air travel in the US remains very safe—there hasn't been a major passenger plane crash in the US since February 2009, a few weeks into Barack Obama's first term as president—but the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a stern warning against complacency. The agency published an...

FAA Has Its Culprit for That Massive Outage

Agency blames contractor who accidentally deleted files while trying to synchronize NOTAM databases

(Newser) - An error by "contract personnel" led to the grounding of flights across the US last week for the first time since the 9/11 attacks, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The unnamed personnel accidentally deleted files on the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) database, which notifies pilots of potential...

Corrupt File Was Behind Massive FAA Outage

It was found in a main safety system as well as its backup system, sources say

(Newser) - A corrupt file appears to have been behind the Federal Aviation Administration system outage Wednesday that caused the first national grounding of flights in the US since the 9/11 attacks. The corrupt file was found in the main Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system as well as in the backup...

Buttigieg Vows to Find, Fix Cause of FAA Outage

It caused the first national grounding of flights since 9/11 attacks

(Newser) - More than 10,000 flights have now been delayed or canceled by the first national grounding of flights since the 9/11 attacks—and authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the system outage that led to the grounding. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tells CNN that there's no...

If You're Flying Today, You May Be in for a Messy Morning
After System Outage,
FAA Grounds All US Flights
UPDATED

After System Outage, FAA Grounds All US Flights

All domestic flights halted until 9am while agency scrambles to restore Notice to Air Missions System

(Newser) - A computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration brought flights to a standstill across the US on Wednesday, reports the AP , with hundreds of delays quickly cascading through the system at airports nationwide. The FAA ordered all US flights to delay departures until 9am Eastern, though airlines said they were...

FAA Workers' 911 Call Sheds Light on 'Midair Mystery'

Employees tell dispatcher that pilot said co-pilot Charles Hew Crooks jumped out of plane

(Newser) - More details are filtering in on what's been deemed a "midair mystery" involving a co-pilot who exited his turboprop plane midflight and fell to his death. The timeline has since been pieced together regarding what happened to Charles Hew Crooks in the skies over North Carolina on Friday...

They Tried to Swap Planes Midair. It Didn't Quite Work

FAA probing Sunday stunt in Arizona, which led to one plane crashing; both pilots are OK

(Newser) - Update: The Federal Aviation Administration has launched a probe into a failed stunt in the sky. Cousins Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, daredevil Red Bull skydivers who'd hoped to swap Cessna single-seat airplanes in midair, didn't see their feat go as planned on Sunday: One of the pilots...

Flight Circles Back After Passengers Decide to Upgrade

Crew says 2 people became disruptive after they were ordered back to coach

(Newser) - It seems logical to claim empty seats on a half-full flight, but United Airlines didn't think so and turned a transatlantic flight around on Thursday when two passengers refused to return to their original seats, per USA Today . About 90 minutes into a flight from Newark to Tel Aviv,...

FAA Brings in Smoother Landings at 42 Airports

New procedure cuts noise, emissions

(Newser) - Passengers at 42 American airports, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Miami International Airport, might have noticed smoother landings in 2021. The Federal Aviation Administration has altered how planes land at those airports and it plans to bring the change to other airports, including New York's LaGuardia, in 2022....

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