FAA news stories on Newser

Due in 2 Weeks: FAA Rules for Drones in US Skies

Matt Cantor — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:50:58 CDT

Thousands of small drones could take wing across the US following a Federal Aviation Administration decision next month. Police departments have been snapping up the unmanned aircraft, whose cameras could be used for everything from missing-person searches to catching drug dealers. Now law enforcement is waiting on the FAA to...

Small Plane Sinks into Gulf; No Sign of Pilot

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:26:01 CDT

Coast Guard crews saw no signs today that the pilot of a small plane survived when it went down in the Gulf of Mexico about three hours after two F-15 fighter jets tried to make contact with him. The plane landed right-side up on the ocean surface and had been...

Expect Pricey Flights All Decade: FAA

Matt Cantor — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:56:17 CST

Expect airfares to stay high for the rest of the decade: Prices won't drop until there's more competition for airlines, which won't happen for a while, an FAA report says. Passengers' miles flown will almost double over the next two decades, from 815 billion last year to 1.57 trillion...

US Looks to Grant Drones Airspace—Next to Your Plane

Kevin Spak — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:00:00 CST

Drones aren't just for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, or Somalia anymore—they're coming to the good old US of A. The Senate sent a bill to President Obama yesterday that would require the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with rules to safely regulate domestic drones, USA Today reports. Civilian demand...

FAA: Pilots Can Use iPads ... During Takeoff, Landing

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:31:07 CST

Well, Alec Baldwin will certainly not be happy to hear this : Starting Friday, if you're on an American Airlines flight, you may use your iPad during takeoff and landing ... as long as you're the pilot. The FAA issued the new rules yesterday, the New York Times reports. Of course, the...

FAA Chief Resigns After DWI Arrest

John Johnson — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:47:01 CST

It was probably just a bit much to overcome: FAA chief Randy Babbitt is resigning in the wake of his weekend DWI arrest, reports AP . Babbitt initially went on leave after police pulled him over in northern Virginia for driving on the wrong side of the road, but now he's...

FAA Chief on Leave After DWI Arrest

Polly Davis Doig — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:52:08 CST

Seems FAA administrator Randy Babbitt may have been flying a little too high over the weekend: Police in northern Virginia charged the veteran pilot with drunk driving after they spotted him driving on the wrong side of the road Saturday night, reports the Washington Post . Babbitt was alone, not involved...

Skydiving Sex? No Problem, Says FAA

Matt Cantor — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:53:06 CDT

Apparently there are no FAA rules against skydiving porn. After a skydiving instructor made a tape that redefined the Mile High Club, the agency investigated—and found that no regulations were broken, the AP reports. The film proves that the physical intimacy didn’t even distract the pilot, the FAA says....

Watchdog: Airport Errors Soaring

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:19:00 CDT

The number of reported air traffic controller errors has jumped, along with the number of unauthorized planes, people, or vehicles on runways, according to a government report released yesterday. Incidents of planes flying too close to one another have nearly doubled in the last three years due to controller mistakes...