Aviation and Airport Development Law : Aviation Lawyer & Attorney : Chevalier Allen & Lichman Law Firm : Airport Development, Environmental Law

February 26, 2010 - A summary review of Aviation and Airport Development related news and information that was made public during the past ten days.  These were all first posted, in abbreviated form, on http://twitter.com/smtaber. Trisha Ton-Nu also contributed to this post. If you would like to receive this update in an e-mail delivered to your inbox every week, please send an e-mail to subscribe@calairlaw.com with the word “subscribe” in the subject line.

Watchdog Finds Aircraft Maintenance Problems at American Airlines, Calls FAA Oversight Weak. --- Joan Lowy, Associated Press, February 18, 2010
According to a report released Thursday by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, the Federal Aviation Administration’s lax oversight of aircraft maintenance at American Airlines raises concerns about the agency’s ability to regulate aircraft maintenance in general. At least four maintenance-related allegations made two years ago have “potential safety implications,” and despite a significant increase in maintenance problems at American, the FAA did little to address the issues. The report questions the FAA’s effectiveness and notes that the FAA only ever took action after the department had briefed agency officials on the need for them.
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FAA: Body Falls From Miami-Bound Airplane. --- The Denver Channel, February 18, 2010
A person’s body fell from a wheel well of an airplane leaving the Dominican Republic for Miami on Thursday, February 18. The body was recovered in the Dominican Republic.
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A summary review of Aviation and Airport Development related news and information that was made public during the past week.  These were all first posted, in abbreviated form, on http://twitter.com/smtaber. Trisha Ton-Nu also contributed to this post. If you would like to receive this update in an e-mail delivered to your inbox every Monday, please send an e-mail to subscribe@calairlaw.com with the word “subscribe” in the subject line.

FAA: 2 Planes Came Within 90 Feet on Ground at LAX. --- Associated Press, October 28, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration determined that a runway incursion at Los Angeles International Airport brought two passenger planes within 90 feet of each other on Sunday, October 25, 2009. A Midwest Express jet taxied toward a runway on which a Northwest Airlines Boeing 757 was taking off, though the jet was supposed to stop. The pilots of both planes will be questioned.
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FAA Issues Notice of ROD for FEIS Concerning Proposed Improvement Activities at Rocky GutierrezAirport in Sitka, AK. --- Federal Register, October 29, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration gave notice that it had issued a Record of Decision for the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act Section 810 Evaluation for Proposed Improvement Activities at Rocky Gutierrez Airport in Sitka, Alaska. The ROD included descriptions of the projects proposed by the Airport Sponsor and evaluation of the projects, as well as federal, state, and local actions that are needed prior to the implementation of the projects. The ROD also identified several of the FAA’s preferred and environmentally preferred alternatives, and alternatives selected by the FAA for implementation.
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Military Says Fighters Should Have Been Launched When Northwest Flight Overshot Airport. --- Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, October 29, 2009.
A top commander said the military would have launched fighter jets to track down the Northwest Airlines flight that overshot its destination if officials had been notified sooner. General Gene Renuart, head of U.S. Northern Command, learned of the incident only minutes before the Federal Aviation Administration regained contact with the pilots. He said delays must be corrected, and Northern Command is doing an internal review of the incident.
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FAA Finds Proposed Chiofaro Towers a Hazard. --- Casey Ross, Boston Globe, October 29, 2009.
Preliminary Federal Aviation Administration findings indicate that developer Don Chiofaro’s proposed towers near the New England Aquarium will have to be cut in half, because the tower complex with its proposed heights of nearly 800 feet would pose a hazard to planes taking off and landing at nearby Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. A principal at Chiofaro’s development firm said that the ruling was expected and the company still plans to pursue high-rise development on the property.
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Atlanta Airport Project Gets Stimulus Funds. --- LexisNexis, October 30, 2009.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia was awarded almost $34 million in stimulus funds through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program, to help pay for construction of a new terminal. The total cost of the terminal, expected to be completed by spring 2012, is $1.35 billion, and the 12-gate facility will connect to the existing international Concourse E, creating a 40-gate international air travel complex.
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Air Transport Association Urges U.S. Climate Negotiators to Oppose Climate Change Tax Targeting International Air Passengers. --- PRNewswire, October 30, 2009.
The Air Transport Association of America urged climate negotiators to oppose the “International Air Passenger Adaption Levy,” which would single out aviation to raise $10 billion per year for climate-change projects to be built in developing countries, and would likely take the form of an exorbitant climate change tax imposed on airlines and their passengers. In a letter to Todd Stern, the U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change, the ATA impelled the United States to oppose the tax and instead support the industry’s proactive proposal for a global and sectoral approach to aviation and climate change.
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FAA Issues Intent to Rule on OAK’s Request for a PFC to Connect OAK to BART. --- Federal Register, November 2, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to rule on and invited public comment on a proposed Passenger Facility Charge at Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, which would go toward providing a direct people mover connection between the Coliseum Bay Area Rapid Transit station and the airport.
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Federal Officials Reject Restrictions on Night Flights at BobHopeAirport. --- L.A. Now, November 2, 2009.
A request by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority for a curfew at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California was rejected by the Federal Aviation Administration for being unreasonable because it would create an “undue burden on commerce” and negatively affect the national air transportation system. The FAA found that the airport failed to meet four of the six conditions required of a restriction proposal, and several major cargo companies including Fed Ex and United Parcel Service opposed the implementation of a curfew.
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Hawaii Airport Getting New Control Tower. --- Associated Press, November 2, 2009.
Construction on a new $39 million air traffic control tower at Keahole-Kona International Airport in Hawaii is to begin in December, and is expected to be put into use in May 2012. The current 51-foot tower was built in 1970 to control a 6,500-foot runway, but after it was extended to 11,000 feet in 1993, it was more difficult for controllers to see the north end. The new tower should provide controllers better views of the airfield.
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Small Airports Land Big Money. --- Thomas Frank, USA TODAY, November 2, 2009.
A USA TODAY analysis shows that Congress has steered $1.1 billion since 2001 to “pet projects” at airports that cater to private planes, with approximately $100 million being allocated to low-priority projects. These “earmarks” projects have been criticized for potentially detracting from federal aid that could be used for projects to ease flight delays at the nation’s busiest airports, but a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said that the earmarks account for only 5% of airport grants.
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Stealth-Mode Wind Turbines. --- Peter Fairley, Technology Review, November 2, 2009.
Danish wind turbine company Vestas and United Kingdom defense contractor Qinetiq believe they may have the solution to the wind-turbine-related aviation radar interference problem: the first “stealth” wind-turbine blade. Turbines can interfere with radar by reflecting radar systems’ microwave signals and creating shadows that erase planes from radar operators’ screens and clutter those screens with the turbines’ signature. The stealth blade is constructed of material that absorbs radar, and the blade produces a markedly smaller signature in comparison to conventional blades.
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Congressman Sherman Proposes Legislation to Allow Nighttime Curfews at Valley Airports. --- California Chronicle, November 3, 2009.
In the wake of the Federal Aviation Administration’s rejection of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority’s application for a waiver to impose nighttime curfews at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, Congressman Brad Sherman is proposing legislation that would allow Bob Hope and Van Nuys Airport to implement mandatory nighttime curfews from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
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FAA Issues Airworthiness Directive for ATR Model ATR42 and ATR72 to Correct “An Unsafe Condition.” --- Federal Register, November 3, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration adopted a new Airworthiness Directive for ATR Model ATR42 and ATR72 airplanes requiring action to address an unsafe condition related to the “unacceptable” probability of ignition risk.
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Safer Standards Urged After North Las Vegas Crashes. --- Keith Rogers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, November 2, 2009.
A Clark County Aviation Department report found that 75 percent of the accidents involving experimental and other aircraft at North Las Vegas Airport in Nevada were caused by pilot error. The report gave several recommendations for the Federal Aviation Administration, which the agency is reviewing and considering, barring those recommendations that have already been implemented.
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IG Report Faults NY Delay Initiative. --- Adrian Schofield, Aviation Week, October 30, 2009.
The Department of Transportation’s Inspector General found that benefits have been seen in just five of the Federal Aviation Administration’s 30 completed New York airport and airspace initiatives. Most of the completed initiatives were either not used or used infrequently, and the IG questioned their viability as “effective delay-reduction solutions.” The IG’s report also found that the FAA lacks an effective process for evaluating the usefulness of the individual initiatives, thereby preventing it from determining if the initiatives provide any benefits.
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Lawmakers Seek Ban on Laptops in Airline Cockpits. --- Joan Lowy, Associated Press, November 3, 2009.
Senator Byron Dorgan, chairman of the aviation subcommittee, said he is planning on introducing a bill that will ban the use of computer laptops and other personal electronic devices in airline cockpits, to prevent an incident like the Northwest Airlines plane that overshot its destination from occurring again. Currently the Federal Aviation Administration does not prohibit pilots from using such devices, except below 10,000 feet when the plane is taking off or landing. Other lawmakers have also indicated that they would support such legislation.
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Acadia to Develop Air Tour Regulations. --- Heather Seavey, WCSH, November 4, 2009.
Acadia National Park in Maine and the Federal Aviation Administration are working together to develop new regulations for scenic air tours that fly over the park. The new regulations would be designed to limit noise for park visitors and wildlife, and would extend to a ½ mile perimeter around the park boundaries and up to 5,000 feet above ground level.
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Northwest Pilots Appeal License Revocation. --- Joan Lowy, Associated Press, November 5, 2009.
The Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles and had their licenses revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration are appealing the revocation with the National Transportation Safety Board. The FAA revoked the pilots’ licenses because they said the pilots put the 144 passengers of the flight in serious danger, and highlighted the incident as an example of the “erosion of professionalism” among commercial pilots.
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FAA Proposes Millions in Penalties Against United Airlines. --- Business and Legal Resources, November 5, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $3.8 million civil penalty against United Airlines for operating one of its Boeing 737 aircraft on more than 200 flights in a less-than-airworthy condition. The airline had violated its own maintenance procedures on one of the plane’s engines—two shop towels, and not the required protective caps, had been used to cover openings in the oil sump area.
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FAA Tracking Planes That Flew Over House Hit By Ice. --- ChicagoBreakingNewsCenter, November 5, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident wherein a large piece of ice fell from the sky and hit a home in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, November 4, 2009. The house lies under one of O’Hare International Airport’s flight paths, and FAA investigators will seek to identify which planes were overhead at the time of the incident, and if any may have reported a leak, which could then be the source of the ice.
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Are Some Airlines Just Too Dangerous to Fly? --- Richard Korman, Miller-McCune, November 4, 2009.
A recently-conducted study found that certain old planes operated from Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa have more accidents. Developing countries are more likely to use old planes beyond their “designed economic life,” and maintenance of these planes may fall short of international standards, though it is difficult to establish global standardization. The European Union launched an airline blacklist in 2006, and passengers should avoid those carriers or carriers from Federal Aviation Administration-downgraded countries, though international maintenance standards should be implemented and enforced.
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Photos Show AA Plane at Center of Safety Investigation. --- Scott Friedman, NBC DallasFort Worth, November 4, 2009.
American Airlines is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration after the airline voluntarily self-disclosed a discrepancy in several of the screwheads used to hold AA plane #279’s skin. The screws appear to be ordinary and unlike the rivets generally used, but the carrier insists that they are aerospace quality and were only installed just before the plane was moved to the New Mexico desert and retired. The FAA is investigating whether the plane carried any passengers with the changed screws, and whether the plane was deliberately moved to the desert graveyard to keep it out of sight of inspectors.
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Barclay Urges Senate to Pass FAA Bill; Eliminate AMT Penalty. --- Aviation News, November 4, 2009.
Charles Barclay, president of the American Association of Airline Executives, is urging the Senate to pass the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill quickly and permanently eliminate the AMT penalty on airport private activity bonds.
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Director of Singapore Firm Sentenced for Illegally Exporting Controlled Aircraft Components to Iran. --- Department of Justice, November 5, 2009.
Laura Wang-Woodford, one of the directors of Singapore-based Monarch Aviation Pte Ltd., was sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn to 46 months in prison for conspiring to violate the U.S. trade embargo by exporting controlled aircraft components to Iran. Along with her husband, Brian D. Woodford, who served as chairman and managing director of Monarch and who remains a fugitive, Ms. Wang-Woodford illegally exported aircraft parts and U.S. military aircraft components. At the time of her December 23, 2007 arrest in San Francisco, she was also in possession of catalogues from a Chinese company from which all U.S. citizens and entities are prohibited from engaging in business.
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FAA Chief: Pilots Must Refocus on Professionalism. --- Joan Lowy, Associated Press, November 4, 2009.
Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt told an aviation club that pilots must refocus on professionalism, and that recent incidents like Northwest Flight 188, which overshot its destination by 150 miles, and the Buffalo, New York crash that killed 50 people, were caused because the pilots forgot their first job was to focus on flying the plane. Babbitt has been stressing a need for stronger professionalism among airline pilots, and he has urged veteran pilots to mentor less experienced pilots.
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$3.7 Million to Study O’Hare Terminal Airlines Don’t Want. --- Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun-Times, November 4, 2009.
Consulting firm Landrum & Brown was awarded a $3.7 million contract to plan for a new western terminal project at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois that the major airlines are refusing to fund and consider ill-conceived. The Federal Aviation Administration, which provided the funding for the study, believes the Western Terminal Planning Study is an “important and necessary tool” to help the agency coordinate with the state to provide regional and local roadways for western access to O’Hare.
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Airport Weight Debate Goes to Commissioners. --- Kurt Hildebrand, The Record-Courier, November 4, 2009.
Douglas County, Nevada commissioners will look at a proposal analyzing what might happen if Minden-Tahoe Airport loses federal funding. The Federal Aviation Administration has already withheld some funding due to the county’s failure to alter the airport’s entry in federal publications, and the FAA would be less likely to continue to provide funding if the airport does not comply with assurances representatives made that the airport would be maintained. The county is analyzing potential options for maintaining the airport without federal funding if the county is held in non-compliance and does not receive federal funds.
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How to Keep Planes From Colliding with Lasers. --- Physics Today, November 5, 2009.
Researchers have created a radio-tracking device that can detect aircraft entering the vicinity of a laser beamed into the sky, which would greatly aid in the prevention of plane-laser collisions. The current method involves using human observers to watch for planes flying with 25 degrees of the laser beams, but the new device would have none of the potential for human error.
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FAA Investigates Clem’s Airport Lease Deal. --- Alan Gustafson, Statesman Journal, November 6, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a controversial lease awarded by former aviation director Dan Clem to a developer at Aurora State Airport in Oregon. The inquiry concerns whether the lease complied with federal grant conditions for airports that receive FAA funding for improvements, and the Oregon Department of Justice is conducting its own investigation into Clem’s handling of the lease. Mr. Clem resigned as state aviation director on October 19 of this year.
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MontanaAirport Hopes to Build Control Tower Soon. --- Associated Press, November 6, 2009.
Missoula International Airport, Montana airport administrators hope to begin building a new control tower in spring, after the Federal Aviation Administration approved about $6.7 million in funding for the tower. The new tower will likely be about 120 feet tall, approximately double the height of the current tower, which was built in the early 1960s.
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Noise Pollution Control. --- Save the Earth!, November 6, 2009.
Noise pollution is displeasing human-, animal-, or machine-created sounds, damaging to physiological and psychological health. In the early 1970s the Environmental Protection Agency developed federal noise-emission standards, and the Federal Aviation Administration adopted Ldn (day-night equivalent level) as the noise descriptor in assessing land-use compatibility with various levels of aircraft noise. The EPA, FAA, and other government agencies work to identify major noise sources in the United States and craft measures to curb noise pollution.
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Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision for Streamlining the Process of Experimental Permit Applications. --- Federal Register, November 6, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced the availability of a Record of Decision for streamlining the environmental review of experimental permit applications for the launch and/or reentry of reusable suborbital rockets. The ROD provides a description of the Proposed Action—the FAA’s Preferred Alternative and the environmentally preferable alternative—and includes a discussion of environmental impacts associated with the Proposed Action for each resource area.
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ExhaustConeFalls Off Jet Onto NY Home’s Lawn. --- David B. Caruso, Associated Press, November 6, 2009.
An engine tailcone fell off a Delta Air Lines Boeing 777 and landed on a lawn in a Long Island, New York residential neighborhood, though neither pilots nor anyone on the ground immediately noticed the mishap. The aircraft does not need the part to fly, and carried on safely to its destination in Tokyo, where Delta personnel reported the engine part missing following an inspection after the plane landed. Delta is conducting an investigation to determine what went wrong.
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FAA Streamlines Experimental Space Flight Access. --- Michael Cooney, Network World, November 6, 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will streamline the environmental review part of permit applications for the launch and/or reentry of reusable suborbital rockets to help bolster a young commercial space market. The Processing of Experimental Permit Applications (PEIS) is the central and important document of the ruling, because it presents information and analysis common to reusable, suborbital rockets and effectively focuses on environmental impacts specific to an applicant’s proposed experimental operations.
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Van Nuys Would Like To Be Paid Back For All That Soundproofing. --- Curbed LA, November 6, 2009.
The Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council is seeking reimbursement from the City of Los Angeles for the cost of installing insulation in homes near Van Nuys Airport in California, after the Federal Aviation Administration rejected plans to enforce a curfew at Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport which would have resulted in the diversion of planes to airports like Van Nuys. The figure is in the $10 million range, but will likely increase when the cost of noise consultants is factored in.
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NBAA Welcomes FAA Ruling Against Curfew Proposal. --- Charter X News, November 7, 2009.
The National Business Aviation Association applauded the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to deny a proposed ban on nighttime operations at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California. The NBAA had submitted an extensive legal filing in opposition to the curfew proposal, one of the documents cited by the FAA in support of its decision.
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Buzzing of Santa Monica Pier Leads to Questions About Aviation Safety. --- Dan Weikel, Los Angeles Times, November 8, 2009.
A November 2008 incident at Santa Monica Pier involving a low-flying military jet has focused attention on the use of high-performance military jets by civilian pilots and the hazard they can pose to people in the air and on the ground. In the Western Pacific region of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii there are about 5,600 experimental exhibition planes that are restricted by the government to air shows, flight demonstrations, or training flights over sparsely populated areas, but there is little to stop those who own or operate those planes from using them in unapproved and dangerous ways. David G. Riggs, the pilot and owner of the jet involved in the Santa Monica Pier incident, may have illegally sold rides in such unapproved planes and may even have failed to adhere to proper maintenance standards for the planes.
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FAA Gives Hope to Cargo. --- Aircargo Asia Pacific, November 9, 2009.
The air cargo industry praised the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to reject BobHopeAirport’s request for a ban on nighttime operations at the Burbank, California airport. Daniel Fernandez, director of the International Air Cargo Association, said that the decision sends a clear message to other airports that may have been considering similar restrictive actions.
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City Council Committee Approves Delta-Airport Lease. --- Kelly Yamanouchi, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 9, 2009.
The Atlanta, Georgia city council transportation committee approved the proposed lease between Hartsfield-JacksonInternationalAirport and Delta Air Lines after the Federal Aviation Administration wrote in a memo that most of its concerns about the deal had been addressed. Key issues involved potentially anti-competitive provisions in the lease, including the restriction of gate usage—a representative for American, Continental, US Airways, and United told the transportation committee that the agreement will restrict those carriers because they will lose five of their gates. The full council will take up the measure at its November 16, 2009 meeting.
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Aircraft Owner Group spent $770,000 Lobbying in 3Q. --- Associated Press, November 9, 2009.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, representative of private pilots, spent $770,000 lobbying on issues related to small aircraft, security, and airport fees, in the third quarter. The group lobbied for legislation that would require the Homeland Security secretary to go through a negotiated rulemaking process before issuing rules aimed at general aviation aircraft, as well as issues like greenhouse emissions, fuel, reauthorization for the Federal Aviation Administration, and authorization for the Transportation Security Administration.
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US Airways Spent $410K Lobbying Government in 3Q. --- Associated Press, November 9, 2009.
US Airways Group Inc. spent $410,000 lobbying in the third quarter. The carrier lobbied on the cap-and-trade energy proposal and aviation regulation issues, and on bills aimed at curbing speculation in the energy markets. US Airways also lobbied on reauthorization for the Federal Aviation Administration and air cargo security issues, aircraft engineering, flight operations, and maintenance issues.
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Senators Call for Passage of FAA Bill. --- Aviation News Today, November 9, 2009.
A group of lawmakers called on Senate leaders to pass the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the FAA Air Transportation and Modernization Act of 2009, S. 1451 on July 21, 2009, but the bill has stalled in the Finance Committee, which has yet to consider the tax portion of the bill.
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Airbus A319 Drops Parts on Dallas. --- Associated Press, November 10, 2009.
A left overwing emergency slide and the door over the compartment in which the slide was stowed fell from an Airbus A319 jet making a test flight in Dallas, Texas. The jet was undergoing maintenance when the incident occurred, and no injuries were reported and the plane was able to land safely.
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