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

FAA Safety Reforms Finally Going to Senate. --- Jerry Zremski, The Buffalo News, February 11, 2010
A week of the U.S. Senate floor time will be scheduled in March for the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, including its safety provisions. Several of the provisions address concerns that the National Transportation Safety Board listed last week as part of its investigation into the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York, last year. The bill would raise pilot-training standards and set requirements for the airlines’ remedial training programs, as well as mandate other increased safety initiatives. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally made the commitment to move the FAA bill up by six months because the Senate has passed its version of health care reform, which had kept it occupied for months, and because the latest in a series of short-term extensions of the FAA bill is set to expire March 31.
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Senate FAA Reauthorization Bill Expected to Finally Move in March! --- Rotor News, February 12, 2010
Senator Charles E. Schumer has persuaded Senate leadership to move ahead with the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill in March. FAA authorization and safety reforms will be considered over the course of a week, though it is unknown if the Senate Finance Committee will mark up the bill before it goes to the Senate floor for debate.
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FAA Reauthorization and Rule Changes to See Debate in March. --- Glenn Pew, AVweb, February 12, 2010
A week of Senate floor time will be scheduled in March to address aviation safety reforms and the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. The FAA reauthorization bill has been through several short-term extensions which are set to expire March 31. The bill’s current provisions address pilot safety standards and set requirements for remedial training programs for commercial carriers, as well as call for independent study of pilot fatigue research to be considered in new flight-time and duty-time rules for pilots. The House already passed its version of the reauthorization bill but it is considered more stringent than the bill the Senate has proposed, and whatever the Senate passes will have to be merged with the House bill by a House-Senate conference committee.
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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 Wednesday, please send an e-mail to subscribe@calairlaw.com with the word “subscribe” in the subject line.

$3.3M Airport Project in Works. --- Stillwater News Press, November 24, 2009
Stillwater Regional Airport in Oklahoma was approved for a $3.3 million taxiway and apron project that may be built in mid-2011. Five percent of the project will be funded by the state and Stillwater City Council, while federal money will account for the remaining 95 percent. The improvement plan will stall however until Congress approves a budget for the Federal Aviation Administration; Congress has passed a resolution providing temporary funding while it reviews and approves the FAA’s budget.
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FAA Fines Airlines for Stranding. --- United Press International, Inc., November 24, 2009
Federal Aviation Administration regulators fined three airlines $175,000 for an August incident where passengers were stranded overnight in a plane in Rochester, Minnesota. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood expressed his hope that the FAA’s investigation and resulting fine would serve as a signal to the rest of the airline industry that the DOT is expecting airlines to respect air travelers’ rights. The penalty is the first of its kind for the FAA, involving passengers left on the tarmac for an unreasonable period.
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Rockefeller Eyes FAA Extension. --- Adrian Schofield, Aviation Week, November 25, 2009
Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller is proposing extending the Federal Aviation Administration’s operating authority through the end of March 2010. The seventh and current extension expires December 31, and it is likely that Congress would need even another extension into the summer. Airport groups will likely be frustrated as they have been pushing for the reauthorization bill to be passed this year, though it is unlikely airlines will be upset since they oppose some significant elements of the House bill.
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Aviation Industry Seeks Stimulus Money to Cut Delays at the Airport. --- Jim Snyder, The Hill, November 26, 2009
Commercial airlines and the private and business aviation industry have joined together to ask Congress to add money for a new air traffic control system in a second stimulus. The two lobbies agree that the NextGen system of satellite-based radar would reduce flight delays and help meet the growing demand for flight travel, but have been divided over how to pay for it.
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Jet Contrails Alter Average Daily Temperature Range. --- Science Daily via Jonathan Guillou, November 28, 2009
A study conducted during the three days after September 11, 20001, when the Federal Aviation Administration grounded commercial aircraft in the U.S., found that jet exhaust contrails affected average daily temperature ranges. Contrails form when water vapor and particles from jet engine exhaust enter the atmosphere, but not all jet exhausts create contrails, especially in warmer areas. Without the contrails from September 11-14, 2001, the daytime temperature was slightly higher and the nighttime temperature slightly lower, creating an increased range between the lowest and highest temperatures. Contrails alter temperature the way natural high clouds do, with the layer of ice crystals shielding the ground from some of the sun’s energy during the day, and preventing some of the Earth’s heat from dissipating into the vaccum at night.
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Wayward Pilots Were “Distracted,” Transcripts Show. --- Matthew Wald, New York Times, November 27, 2009
Transcripts from the October Northwest Flight 188 incident involving a Northwest Airlines plane that overshot its destination and was out of radio contact for over an hour reveal that the pilots were distracted. The transcripts and audio files were released Friday, November 27, 2009 by the Federal Aviation Administration, but the National Transportation Safety Board, which is also investigating, may release the transcript or a summary of it later this year. The FAA classified the incident as a “pilot deviation” and revoked the licenses of the two pilots, who are appealing.
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Report: FAA Accused of “Gross Mismanagement” at Newark Airport. --- David Porter, Associated Press, November 28, 2009
The Office of Special Counsel, a federal agency that handles whistle-blower complaints, has accused the Federal Aviation Administration of endangering public safety by not changing landing procedures at Newark International Airport in New Jersey. An air traffic controller filed a complaint last year describing safety issues with planes landing on intersecting runways at the airport. The report was filed last month and the FAA said it would make changes to the landing procedures by October 26, and later reported that it had done so when it hadn’t. The Office of Special Counsel sent a letter November 19 to White House counsel Gregory Craig reporting the FAA’s gross mismanagement.
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Coyotes Pose an Obstacle at North Carolina Airport. --- McClatchy Newspapers, November 27, 2009
Airport officials at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina have noted a recent increase in the number of coyotes crossing the paths of taxiing airplanes and are looking to address the problem. Airport workers and federal wildlife managers usually try to scare coyotes off with cap guns or bottle rockets, but the airport is working on a larger wildlife management plan for the Federal Aviation Administration to review. The proposal recommends improving fencing and keeping grasses trimmed low to manage coyotes and other wildlife on the property.
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Edward Stimpson, Aviation Advocate, Dies at 75. --- John Miller, Associated Press, November 26, 2009
Edward Stimpson, an aviation advocate who pushed to rejuvenate struggling small aircraft manufacturers in the 1990s, died Wednesday, November 25, 2009 from complications related to lung cancer. He was a major proponent of legislation signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994 to prevent general aviation companies from being named as defendants in lawsuits in crashes of small planes 18 years old or older. He also advocated against record flying attempts and was a chairman of the “Be A Pilot” education and research program aimed at increasing the number of people learning to fly.
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Airports Push for Increased Facility Charge. --- Carl Unger, Smarter Travel, November 30, 2009
U.S. airports would like to see the current passenger facility charge (PFC) of $4.50 increased to $7.50 per segment, a 66 percent increase. The fees go toward updating runways, gates, and terminal facilities, but airports say they need higher fees to keep up with the rising costs of these improvements. Airlines oppose the proposed raise, saying that it would impose an additional and unwarranted $2-billion-per-year tax increase on commercial passengers. 
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Airports Want Passenger Fee Charge Increased. --- Roger Yu, USA Today, November 30, 2009
Airports have been lobbying Congress to raise the cap on passenger facility charges (PFCs) that fliers pay as part of their airline tickets, to index them to the inflationary cost of construction. Airlines oppose the increase, but airports have raised more than $27.5 billion since Congress approved the facility charge in 1992. John Meenan of the airline association says airports have too often used the money for projects they shouldn’t that the Federal Aviation Administration has been lax in approving.
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Regulators Reject Boeing 777 Safety Warnings. --- Andy Pasztor, Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2009
Federal Aviation Administration regulators have decided to allow more than 60 Boeing Co. 777 jetliners to continue flying long-distance international trips through early 2011 despite safety warnings from crash investigators and pilots. The jetliners have suspect parts that have caused engines in extremely rare instances to ice up and shut down in midair.
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Mending Fences: FAA Proposes Guidance on Through-The-Fence Operations. --- Mike France, National Air Transport Association, November 30, 2009
The Federal Aviation Administration released a proposed guidance document on through-the-fence (TTF) operations at federally obligated airports that has generated some controversy. A TTF agreement is an agreement entered into by an airport sponsor that would allow access to airport facilities by aircraft based on property adjacent to, but not owned by, the airport. The FAA’s proposed strict prohibition on TTF access for residential uses may create situations where airports’ sponsors are forced to use extraordinary measures to cancel existing TTF agreements. The National Air Transport Association is hoping to work with the FAA to ensure that existing agreements are structured in a way that honors their original intent without placing airports in danger of violating grant assurances.
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FAA Bans Takeoff with “Polished Frost.” --- Aubrey Cohen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 30, 2009
The Federal Aviation Administration announced a new law which will take effect January 30 banning takeoffs with “polished frost” on the wings, stabilizers, and control surfaces of several classes of aircraft. Major and regional air carriers are already prohibited from operating with polished frost, but the new rule will affect 57 operators flying 188 aircraft.
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FAA Press Release: FAA Bans Takeoffs with “Polished Frost.” ---Federal Aviation Administration, November 30, 2009
The Federal Aviation Administration’s new rules, effective January 30, 2010, will prohibit takeoffs with “polished frost,” for several classes of aircraft. Frost can affect wings aerodynamics and control surfaces, and the new rules include four alternatives to removing frost that operators may consider.
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Plume of Pollutants From a Small Airport. --- Henry Fountain, New York Times, November 30, 2009
A study of the air around Santa Monica Airport by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles found high concentrations of ultrafine particles of organic carbon and sooty black carbon that extended in a plume more than 2,000 feet downwind of the airport—longer than those typically found around highways in daytime. Dr. Paulson, one of the researchers, said that epidemiological studies have shown the health risks associated with these kinds of emissions by vehicles, but that there has not been similar analyses done around airports. Air quality around airports has not been studied much and when it has, the focus has usually been on larger airports.
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FAA Clarifies What Can Be Stowed in Seat Back. --- Joe Sharkey, New York Times, November 30, 2009
New Federal Aviation Administration guidelines clarify formerly confusing policies on whether passengers may put personal items in airplane seat-back pockets. In a recent FAA clarification notice sent to airlines, the notice stated that airline seat pockets are designed to safely hold about three pounds of weight and small, lightweight items can be placed in the pocket without exceeding its total designed weight limitation or blocking anyone from safely evacuating the row of seats. The status quo has allowed for items of reasonable size to be placed in the seat-back pocket, but airlines were being told different things by regional FAA inspectors, perhaps prompting the need for the clarification.
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FAA Asked to Do More to Fix Morale. --- Sholnn Freeman, Washington Post, December 1, 2009
A Government Accountability Office report released Monday, November 30, 2009 called on the Federal Aviation Administration to step up its efforts to promote diversity and do more to counter low morale by broadening its training programs. The GAO said the FAA’s morale and culture problems could obstruct its ability to attract and retain tech-savvy workers, critical as the need for workers will grow as the FAA moves to more advanced equipment and faces a wave of retirements.
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GAO Report: Mica Attacks Controllers as Cause For Morale Problems at FAA. --- The Potomac Current and Undertow, December 1, 2009
After the recently released Government Accountability Office report on poor Federal Aviation Administration morale, Representative John Mica attacked air-traffic controllers as the cause of the problems. He also said that conditions would be unlikely to improve under a “controversial labor contract” that unfairly benefited only one group of FAA employees.
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FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt told the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Wednesday, June 10, 2009, that small regional airlines are held to the same safety standards as the major carriers. Babbitt says he and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood are ensuring that the FAA is taking steps to ensure that that is the practice as well as the law. However, FAA Inspector General Calvin Scovell  says that is not currently the case.

Subcommittee Chair Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) opened the hearing with the statement that he was concerned that there is a double standard in aviation instead of  "one level of safety for both regional and major carriers."  This issue has come to the forefront since the crash of Colgan Air flight in Buffalo, raising issues of pilot training, proficiency and pay at regional airlines.  The investigation into that crash has revealed that the pilot flew cross country as a passenger on a flight the night before and lacked experience in the deicing procedures for the type of aircraft that crashed.

FAA Administrator Babbitt said that the same safety laws and regulations apply across the board to all airlines, regardless of whether they are regional or national in scope.  That being said, Administrator Babbitt stated that there is much to be done to improve safety and that he and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood are committed to focusing on inspection of aircraft and safety.

FAA Inspector General Calvin Scovell, however, stated that although the laws and regulations may be the same, in practice there are two standards.  He stated that he was particularly concerned about the difference between pilots' training and level of flight experience in the two types of airlines.  The major airlines did not escape the hearing unscathed.  Scovell also testified that  there have been many lapses in oversight of the major airlines' technical programs, similar to the problems that came to light last summer concerning Southwest Airlines. In particular, he was concerned that 7 major airlines missed "Air Transportation Oversight Systems" inspections, some had been allowed to lapse  "well beyond the 5-year inspection cycle."

NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker also had some choices remarks for the FAA.  He informed the panel that the FAA has failed to heed recommendations suggested by the NTSB that would produce greater safety.  When asked how many recommended changes were outstanding, Chairman Rosenker stated that there about 450 recommendations still outstanding with some 10 - 15 years old.  Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.) called this an "outrage" and an indictment of the FAA, "it is not about anyone personally, it is the institution, it is the way they think, and it is very disturbing to me."

In the end, Administrator Babbitt promised to consider the NTSB recommendations, and although the FAA will not adopt them all, he would make the FAA "more transparent" about the process.

Click on "continue reading" to see list of written statements and link to the archived webcast of the hearing.

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Although originally billed as a Senate hearing on FAA Reauthorization, because another continuing resolution was passed last week, the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security switched the focus of the hearing from Reauthorization to NextGen and "the Benefits of Modernization." 

Essentially, this hearing was a scaled-down version of the hearing that the House held last week.  (See, "U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation Holds Hearing on FAA's NextGen and ATC Modernization Efforts,"  posted March 22, 2009). Indeed, the written testimony of Dr. Dillingham is almost word for word identical to the written testimony presented to the House Subcommittee.  Likewise, the written testimony of Dale Wright, NATCA's Director of Safety and Technology, was in most respects the same as Patrick Forrey's last week.  As Sen. John D. Rockefeller, IV, Chairman of the full Committee stated in his opening statement, this hearing was a first step to "move the U.S. past Mongolia in the ranking of air traffic control systems."

It was also Sen. Rockefeller who summed up the problems the FAA has been having not only with respect to NextGen, but many other issues as well:  "[r]ivalries in the aviation community have hampered the industry's ability to speak with one voice for far too long.  Without that one voice, you will fail."  The simmering labor disputes between the Air Traffic Controllers and the FAA; the mistrust between the Pilots and General Aviation; the airlines' position with the FAA have all made it difficult for anything to be resolved, even if everyone agrees that some form of NextGen is an absolute necessity.

Thus, the hearing had Hank Krakowski, Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organization at the FAA, patting FAA on the back for getting ATC Modernization off of GAO's "High Risk List," (see, "GAO Removes FAA Air Traffic Control Modernization Program From Its High Risk List," posted January 22, 2009) and generally touting how invested the FAA is in working with all stakeholders to achieve the goals.  In counterpoint, NATCA's Wright, talked about the human cost of NextGen, and telling the Subcommittee that the "FAA  must collaborate meaningfully with stakeholders" pointing out that "to date [NATCA has] received no indication from the FAA that the Agency has any intention of meaningfully collaborating with NATCA."

Likewise, T.K. Kallenbach of Honeywell Aerospace lauded the environmental benefits of Continuous Descent, which is possible with the new NextGen technology.  Meanwhile United Airlines' Joe Kolshak understandably lobbied hard for NextGen, since the airlines anticipate a huge drop in fuel costs, although the airlines might be looking for some assistance to get the required technology installed into the cockpits.  And finally, Dr. Dillingham once again told a Congressional panel that the "FAA faces challenges in resolving human capital," research and development, and facilities issues.

So, where does that leave us? Two "foundational" and "critical" hearings in which the same people are saying essentially the same thing that they (or their agencies/organizations) have been saying for at least the past two years.  With FAA Reauthorization stalled in the House (see "User Fees Issues Probably Will Force Short-Term Extension of FAA's Authorization Instead of Full Reauthorization," posted March 16, 2009), and the Obama administrative set to present its proposal in Mid-April, it seems unlikely that anything will get rolling anytime soon.

A list of the witnesses and their written testimonies follows.

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