Category: FAA

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a civil penalty of $246,450 against Woodward, Inc., a Santa Clarita, Calif.-based aircraft repair station, and its subsidiary HRT for allegedly violating FAA drug and alcohol testing regulations.
The FAA alleges Woodward HRT failed to conduct required drug tests and receive verified negative drug test results before transferring or hiring 12 people to perform safety-sensitive aircraft maintenance work.

The FAA also alleges the company failed to include six individuals in its random drug and alcohol testing pool.
Other alleged violations include failing to administer a return-to-duty drug test to one employee after he completed a substance abuse treatment program. The company’s testing firm also allegedly used an expired intoximeter bottle to perform calibration checks on a breath-testing device.
The FAA discovered the alleged violations during an inspection of Woodward’s required drug and alcohol testing program April 9-13, 2012. The alleged violations took place between August 2010 and March 2012.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a civil penalty of $359,350 against GKN Aerospace Chem-Tronics, Inc., an El Cajon, Calif.-based aircraft repair station,for allegedly violating FAA drug and alcohol testing regulations.
The FAA alleges GKN failed to conduct required pre-employment drug tests and receive verified negative drug test results before hiring 17 people to perform safety-sensitive functions. The alleged violations took place between May and December, 2011.
The FAA also alleges the company failed to test four randomly-selected individuals for alcohol use in January, April and July, 2011; failed to carry out all the required drug and alcohol testing for two employees as part of the return-to-duty process; and conducted inappropriate post-accident drug testing for two employees.
The FAA discovered the alleged violations during an inspection of GKN’s testing program, Jan. 23-27, 2012.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a civil penalty of $205,250 against Circor Aerospace, Inc., a Sylmar, Calif.-based aircraft repair station, for allegedly violating FAA drug and alcohol testing regulations.
The FAA alleges Circor failed to conduct required pre-employment drug tests and receive verified negative drug test results before hiring 29 people to perform safety-sensitive aircraft maintenance work.
The FAA also alleges the company failed to include two individuals in its random drug and alcohol testing pool.
The FAA discovered the alleged violations during a December 2011 inspection of Circor’s antidrug and alcohol misuse prevention program. The alleged violations took place between September 2010 and December 2011.

On September 14, Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta renewed two important partnerships to encourage young people to pursue a career in aerospace.

“Our partnerships with FAA aviation and space education ambassador Jamail Larkins and the national Build-A-Plane program inspire students across the nation to explore the many opportunities that aviation and aerospace careers offer,” said Huerta.

Jamail Larkins will continue to serve as the FAA’s official ambassador for aviation and space education under the STEM-AVSED (Science, Engineering, and Mathematics-Aviation and Space Education) program. Larkins is one of the country’s youngest aviation entrepreneurs and President of Ascension Air, a Cirrus fractional partnership program. He addresses up to 20,000 students about aerospace careers each year through public schools and youth groups. The STEM-AVSED program coordinates presentations with Larkins for agency outreach events, such as Aviation Career Education Academies, airport career expos and school visits.
The agency also renewed a partnership with Build-A-Plane, a national program that allows students to construct real airplanes. Build-A-Plane Executive Director Katrina Bradshaw signed the renewal with Acting Administrator Huerta. Build-A-Plane started in 2003 as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting aerospace and aviation careers by allowing students across the United States to work on the construction and restoration of airplanes.

Press Release – FAA Establishes New Center of Excellence for General Aviation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected a team of universities to lead a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for general aviation. The COE will focus research and testing efforts on safety, accessibility and sustainability to enhance the future of general aviation.
“The United States has the largest and most diverse general aviation community in the world, with more than 300,000 aircraft registered to fly through American skies,” said Secretary LaHood. “This innovative partnership with academia and industry will help us take general aviation safety to the next level.”

The selected group is called the FAA Center of Excellence Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability (PEGASAS), and will be led by Purdue University, The Ohio State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The core team also will include the Florida Institute of Technology, Iowa State University and Texas A&M University. Affiliate members include: Arizona State University, Florida A&M, Hampton University, Kent State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Oklahoma State University, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale), Tufts University, Western Michigan University and University of Minnesota, Duluth.

The FAA’s COE program is a cost-sharing research partnership between academia, industry and the federal government. Research and development efforts by PEGASAS will cover a broad spectrum of general aviation safety issues, including airport technology, propulsion and structures, airworthiness, flight safety, fire safety, human factors, system safety management and weather.
The PEGASAS university members all have nationally recognized collegiate flight education programs, and three of the core members (Purdue, Ohio State and Texas A&M) also own and operate their own airports. Research projects will be performed through a partnership of principal investigators from the different universities. PEGASAS will engage both graduate-level and undergraduate students in its research activities.

“The FAA continues its goal of working to reduce general aviation fatalities by 10 percent over a 10-year period, from 2009 to 2018,” said Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “The Center of Excellence program is a valuable tool in providing the critical data we need to reduce those accidents.”

PEGASAS industry and organizational partners are GE Aviation; Battelle Memorial Institute; NetJets Inc.; Cessna; Gulfstream; Piper; Raytheon; Rockwell Collins; Cirrus; Flight Safety Foundation; Guardian Mobility; Harris Corporation; Jet Aviva; NextGen AeroSciences; Nelson
Consulting; Rolls-Royce; The Spectrum Group; Take Flight Solutions; Woolpert; the Flight Deck Display Research Laboratory at NASA Ames; Columbus Regional, South Bend and Fort Wayne Airports; Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Indiana Departments of Transportation; the National Business Aviation Association; the National Intercollegiate Flying Association; and Ohio Aerospace Institute. These non-federal affiliates will provide matching contributions to help offset the FAA’s investment in the COE’s general aviation research initiatives.

The FAA established the first Center of Excellence for General Aviation in 2001 through a 10-year agreement to conduct general aviation research in airport and aircraft safety areas. The research topics included pilot training, human factors, weather, Automatic Dependent Surveillance/Broadcast (ADS-B), remote airport lighting systems and other matters.

As the first Center of Excellence for General Aviation research concludes, the new team will continue critical research, testing and education efforts. The FAA intends to invest a minimum of $500,000 per year during the first five years of the new, 10-year agreement with PEGASAS.
Congress authorized Air Transportation Centers of Excellence under the Federal Aviation Administration Research, Engineering and Development Authorization Act of 1990. This legislation enables the FAA to work with university partners and industry affiliates to conduct research in airspace and airport planning and design, environment and aviation safety, as well as to engage in other activities to assure a safe and efficient air transportation system.

The FAA has established Centers of Excellence in eight other topic areas, focusing on commercial space transportation, airliner cabin environment and intermodal research, aircraft noise and aviation emissions mitigation, computational modeling of aircraft structures, advanced materials, airport pavement and airport technology, operations research and airworthiness assurance.

FAA Achieves Major NextGen Milestone with Contract for Digital Communications in Aircraft

Today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a significant step forward in its Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) programs, awarding a contract that will supplement the voice communications currently used in commercial aviation with a digital system for clearer, more efficient communication between air traffic controllers, the flight deck and pilots.
The FAA selected Harris Corporation Government Communications Systems to provide Data Communications Integrated Services (DCIS), with a subcontracting team that includes ARINC Inc., GE Aviation and Thales.
“The FAA’s commitment to Data Communications is a critical next step for improving air safety, reducing delays, increasing fuel savings and improving the environment,” said Acting Administrator Michael P. Huerta. “When fully implemented, DataComm will make work safer and more efficient for both the air traffic controller and the pilot.”
Voice communication is currently the primary means of relaying information in air traffic management. However, voice communication is not the most effective way for air traffic controllers and pilots to communicate because it can be time-consuming and limiting. DataComm supplements today’s analog voice-only air-to-ground communications system with a digital system, and it will become the primary mode of communication in air traffic in the future.
DataComm will provide a two-way data exchange between controllers and flight crews for clearances, instructions, advisories, flight crew requests and reports. It will enhance air traffic safety by allowing controllers to give more timely and effective clearances, and more reliable messages to reduce the risk of incidents associated with voice communications. It will also help air traffic controllers safely handle more traffic by reducing congestion on radio frequencies and related errors.
The FAA will deploy data communications in air traffic control towers by 2016 and in air traffic facilities that manage high altitude traffic beginning in 2019. The $331 million contract covers seven years, with 10 additional one-year options. Harris Corporation will also be responsible for contracting directly with communication service providers to establish Data Communications Network Services.