The FAA is ordering the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory. See PDF grounding 737 MaxThe agency made this decision as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the site and analyzed today. This evidence, together with newly refined satellite data available to FAA this morning, led to this decision.
The grounding will remain in effect pending further investigation, including examination of information from the aircraft’s flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders. An FAA team is in Ethiopia assisting the NTSB as parties to the investigation of the Flight 302 accident. The agency will continue to investigate.
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Nasa Press Release: NASA SELECTS SOUNDING ROCKETS OPERATIONS CONTRACTOR
WASHINGTON — NASA selected Orbital Sciences Corp.’s, Technical Services Division in Greenbelt, Md., for the agency’s Sounding Rockets Operations contract. The total value of this indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity cost-plus incentive fee contract is $310 million. The period of performance is five years.
Orbital Sciences will coordinate and implement NASA’s overall Sounding Rockets Program and provide services and supplies as necessary to complete individual missions and projects. Services include designing, fabricating, integrating, and performing flight qualification testing of sub-orbital payloads; providing launch
vehicles and associated hardware; and conducting various activities associated with subsequent mission launch operations.Additional services to be provided under the contract may also include special engineering and technical support, education and outreach activities, and environmental studies.
The majority of the work will be done at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, which manages the agency’s sounding rocket program.
Boeing Statement Regarding USDA-FAA Partnership on Aviation Biofuels
CHICAGO, Oct. 21 Boeing Vice President, Environment and Aviation Policy, Billy M Glover, issued the following statement in the wake of today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration that the two agencies have agreed to work together to bring sustainable biofuels into production for the aviation industry.
“Today’s announcement is welcome news for the commercial aviation industry, which sees sustainable biofuels as a key element of its plan to lower its carbon emissions. Through test flights with a number of our customers, we have proven that fuels made from plant matter and algae can power jet aircraft safely and efficiently, and we look forward in the months ahead to the approval of these fuels for commercial use. The challenge then will be to prime the production pump, and bring biofuels to an attractive price point for airlines.
Boeing is currently working with the USDA and the Air Transport Association on the Farm-to-Fly initiative, which seeks to encourage the production of sustainable aviation biofuels through U.S. agricultural policy. The USDA-FAA partnership will further help in that regard. We applaud their efforts and look forward to working with them to commercialize biofuels that can help the aviation industry meet its aggressive carbon reduction goals.”
Wildlife Outreach by FAA
The FAA recently launched a wildlife poster outreach campaign for the general aviation (GA) community — pilots, airport sponsors, mechanics, engine manufacturers, students at aviation schools, and aviation organizations — to increase wildlife strike reporting among this important segment of aviation. For the last 50 years, the FAA has worked to reduce wildlife strikes at airports and periodically conducts studies to gauge the effectiveness of its program. The latest study shows that the general aviation population accounts for only six percent of the total strikes reported, which is more than 100,000 reports. Through increased and concentrated educational outreach, the FAA hopes to close the reporting gap between the more than 2,000 GA airports and certificated airports that operate with an increased level of safety and oversight.
This year’s poster “Report Wildlife Strikes” depicts a caution sign with a bird inside and the simple message to report wildlife strikes. Copies of the poster have been delivered to the general aviation community and are designed to be placed in highly-used areas such as training rooms and break rooms.
The FAA wants to hear from airport sponsors why reporting is low and encourage them to work with the FAA to increase reporting and reduce wildlife strikes. The strike information will tell the airport sponsors and the FAA what types of wildlife are involved, the amount of damage to the aircraft, and how many strikes occur at general aviation airports annually. This information will allow the FAA to help airport sponsors develop wildlife mitigation plans to reduce wildlife strikes.
In addition to the poster outreach, the FAA encourages GA airports to conduct a wildlife hazard assessment to help airport sponsors understand and determine the wildlife hazards on their airports. The FAA may support GA airports by making Airport Improvement Program grants available to conduct an assessment.The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Program
Background
The FAA’s wildlife hazardmanagement program has been in place for more than 50 years and focuses on mitigating wildlife hazards on or near airports through habitat modification, harassment technology, and research.
FAA Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Efforts
The FAA has a number of initiatives underway.
Wildlife Strike Awareness Posters
Toencourage and increase wildlife strike reporting in the general aviation (GA) community, the FAA’s Office of Airports developed a “Report Wildlife Strikes” awareness poster 2011. As part of the outreach effort, the FAA printed and distributed approximately 12,000 posters to general aviation airports, aviation schools, other organizations and associations, and Part 139 certificated airports that receive an operating certificate from the FAA because they operate with an increased level of oversight and safety.
Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports
As an additional part of the outreach effort, the Office of Airports encourages GA airports to conduct Wildlife Hazard Assessments to determine what, if any, wildlife mitigation is needed. The FAA may support GA airports by making Airport Improvement Program grants available to conduct an assessment.
Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Reports
The FAA provided funding and expertise for two Airport Cooperative Research Program reports, Bird Harassment, Repellent, and Deterrent Techniques for Use on and Near Airports (2011) and Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports (2010). The reports are available on http://wildlife.faa.gov.
National Wildlife Strike Database Goes Public
On April 24, 2009, the FAA made its entire bird strike database available to the public. Over the last three years the FAA has received, 27,979 strike reports – 10,735 in 2009; 10,890 in 2010; and 6,354 through August 2011.
Wildlife Hazard Assessments
The FAA initiated rulemaking in June 2009 to make assessments mandatory whether or not an airport has had a triggering event. The FAA will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking later this year for certificated airports.
Level of Reporting and Mandatory Reporting
Dr. Richard Dolbeer, wildlife hazard mitigation expert and former USDA National Coordinator for the Airport Wildlife Hazards Program, conducted a study on behalf of the FAA and issued a report in December 2009 that estimated that the number of reported strikes has increased from 20 percent during the period from 1990-1994 to 39 percent from 2004-2008 at certificated airports. Although the number of reports has increased, the number of damaging strikes has not. Dolbeer attributed this to the implementation of professionally-run wildlife hazard programs. Dolbeer determined the current level of reporting (39 percent) is statistically valid and is sufficient for the FAA to develop national trends and mitigation policies, making mandatory reporting unnecessary. However, Dolbeer noted that there is a reporting gap among GA airports. The FAA is working with the GA community, through educational outreach, to emphasize the importance of reporting strikes and to close the reporting gap.
Redesigned Web Site
The FAA redesigned the wildlife hazard web site to make it more user-friendly and to allow more advanced data mining. The site, http://wildlife.faa.gov, has search fields that enable users to find data on specific airports.
Online Strike Reporting
The FAA developed mobile application software to make strike reporting easier. The FAA also placed a Quick Response (QR) code scanner on the bottom of the 2011 “Report Wildlife Strikes” for smart phone users who have the QR application. Now, anyone can report a wildlife strike via the web or their personal data device.
Continuing Wildlife Hazard Efforts
Avian or Bird Radar Technology
In 2006, the FAA tasked the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT) at the University of Illinois to develop and execute a performance assessment for commercially available avian radar. The FAA deployed the initial avian radar systems at Seattle-Tacoma and Whidbey Island Naval Station in 2007, Chicago O’Hare in 2009, and John F. Kennedy and Dallas-Fort Worth in 2010. The performance assessments will continue at these airports over the next two years. A new research effort will begin at the end of 2011 to examine the feasibility and practicality of pilots and air traffic controllers using bird radar data. The FAA published Advisory Circular 150/5220-25 Airport Avian Radar Systems in November 2010 as a performance specification that airports can use to competitively purchase bird radar systems.
FAA-Smithsonian Interagency Agreement
The Smithsonian identifies the bird species from remains after a strike. Bird identification helps airfield personnel implement habitat management programs and provides information so aircraft manufacturers can better design engines and aircraft to withstand the impact of likely bird collisions. The FAA provides financial support to the Smithsonian to identify bird remains from civil aviation bird strikes as a free-of-charge service to any U.S. registered aircraft, regardless of where the strike occurred, and foreign carriers if the strike occurred at a U.S. airport.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The FAA and the USDA collaborate on research to make airports safer by reducing the risks of aircraft-wildlife collisions. The research efforts include:
Methods for making airport habitats less attractive to species that are the most dangerous in terms of aircraft collisions.
Technologies for harassing and deterring hazardous species.
Ongoing research projects include the compatibility of growing biofuel crops on airport property, assessing the movement behavior of large birds using satellite telemetry, studying the response of geese to approaching objects, and reviewing deterrent technology such as loud acoustical devices to deter birds.
FAA Partnerships and Outreach
Bird Strike Committee USA
The FAA co-sponsors the Bird Strike Committee-USA as part of its continued public outreach and education effort to increase awareness within the aviation community about wildlife hazards.- FAA | Mexico | press release
Washington Headquarters Press Release: Mexico
For Immediate Release
July 30, 2010
Contact: Sasha Johnson or Laura Brown
Phone: sasha.j.johnson@faa.gov or laura.j.brown@faa.govFAA Finds Mexico Does Not Meet ICAO Safety Standards
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that Mexico is not in compliance with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), following an assessment of the country’s civil aviation authority. As a result, the United States is downgrading Mexico from a Category 1 to Category 2 rating.
As part of the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, the agency assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that operate or have applied to fly to the United States and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations. With the IASA Category 2 rating, Mexican air carriers cannot establish new service to the United States, although they are allowed to maintain existing service.
While Mexico has been responsive to the FAA’s findings and has made significant improvements in recent months, it was unable to fully comply with all of the international safety standards. However, under the leadership of Director General Hector Gonzalez Weeks, Mexico continues to make progress. The FAA is committed to working closely with the Mexican government and providing technical assistance to help Mexico regain its Category 1 rating.
A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards. A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with international standards, or that its civil aviation authority – equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping or inspection procedures.
Countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance.
FAA Proposes $304,000 Civil Penalty Against Great Lakes Aviation
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $304,000 civil penalty against Great Lakes Aviation of Cheyenne, Wyo., for allegedly conducting 19 flights with aircraft that were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.Great Lakes operated the aircraft in conditions in which the carrier could reasonably expect frost, snow or ice to adhere to the planes, the FAA alleges. The FAA maintains that Great Lakes flew Beech 1900 aircraft out of Hays, Kan., in January 2011 with deicing fluid that exceeded the maximum temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The Great Lakes deicing manual states that fluid heated to more than 180 degrees could damage the aircraft or the deicer.
NTSB Sends Investigators to Paraguay
February 4, 2013
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board is sending investigators to assist in the investigation of a Robinson R44 II helicopter that crashed about 80 miles north of Asuncion, Paraguay. Initial reports indicate that the pilot and two passengers were fatally injured.
The investigation is being led by the Paraguay Civil Aviation Authority (CIPAA). The NTSB has designated senior investigator Paul Cox as the U. S. accredited representative to the CIPAA’s investigation and he will be accompanied by representatives from NTSB, the FAA, Robinson Helicopters, and Lycoming Engines. The U.S. team is expected to arrive Wednesday morning. Further information regarding the investigation will be released by the CIPAA.