Latest FAA.gov News and Updates

Secretary LaHood joined Administrator Babbit at AirVenture and shares highlights of visit.

The FAA Safety Team is out in full force at the "World's Greatest Aviation Celebration" in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. You can find the FAA Safety Team-also known as the FAASTeam-in the FAA Aviation Safety Center, right next to the FAA control tower.

At the booth you can learn more about the improvements to the www.FAASafety.gov website, sign up for the WINGS pilot proficiency program, and find out about FAA's aviation maintenance technician awards program. This is a great opportunity to talk with dedicated safety professionals whose number one job is to make general aviation as safe as possible.

You can also check out the rest of the FAA Aviation Safety Center and see displays on all things aviation. The safety education forums held at the Safety Center cover such topics as "Aeronautical Decision Making," "Surface Safety," and "VFR Charts, Little Known Facts."

See you there. For more information on EAA AirVenture, go to www.airventure.org.

July 28 - Pilots can fly into Wittman Regional Airport this week for the EAA AirVenture Fly-In knowing that the FAA is working to keep U.S. runways safe.

The U.S. aviation system continues to see a decrease in the number and severity of surface incidents and runway incursions. The FAA recorded a 50 percent decrease in the number of serious runway incursions in fiscal year 2009, compared to the previous year. Considering the amount of activity on U.S. runways - the many takeoffs and landings and the movement of vehicles and people across runways - this is great progress. But there is always more we can do. The FAA's Runway Safety Program continues to work closely with domestic and international aviation stakeholders to keep improving runway safety and to reduce the number of incursions.

The Next Generation Air Transportation System or NextGen already is playing a role in runway safety. Technology such as ADS-B, ASDE-X, and Runway Status Lights will continue to make runways even safer.

The FAA is also keenly focused on working with general aviation pilots on runway safety issues, because GA pilots are involved in nearly 80 percent of runway incursions. The agency is working with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) to reach its more than 400,000 member pilots and flight instructors. It also has launched national runway safety promotional campaigns aimed at pilots and vehicle drivers. One is called "If You Cross the Line, You've Crossed the Line," highlighting the dangers of unsafe taxiing or driving. The FAA and AOPA also have created online courses to educate pilots on runway safety.

In 2007, after 25 serious incursions, the FAA launched a Call to Action with aviation leaders from airlines, airports, air traffic control and pilot unions, and aerospace manufacturers to address runway safety issues. As a result, the FAA agreed to expedite the installation of new technology at airports, the airlines developed better surface training programs for pilots, and the airports agreed to speed up improvements in signage and markings.

The FAA also hosted the first International Runway Safety Summit with participants from 17 countries. In large part, the summit focused on improving communication between pilots and controllers, a significant factor in international runway safety. Soon after that, the FAA implemented new phraseology to align with International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

July 27 - If you're in Oshkosh for EAA AirVenture, be sure and stop by the FAA Aviation Safety Center (next to the FAA control tower). This is where you can learn more about how the FAA is here to help you. There are exhibits on a host of aviation topics, from aircraft certification, air traffic control, and aerospace medicine, to the Next Generation Air Transportation System, runway safety, and the FAA Safety Team's WINGS pilot proficiency program.

The safety education forums held at the Aviation Safety Center cover such topics as "Aeronautical Decision Making," "Surface Safety," and "VFR Charts, Little Known Facts."

See you there. For more information on EAA AirVenture, go to www.airventure.org. You can also download a copy of the full FAA Aviation Safety Center schedule.

July 26-The aviation community is focused on Oshkosh, Wisconsin this week as aviators from around the world gather to celebrate flight. The FAA's mission is safety and this week's activities at Oshkosh present a great opportunity to take a closer look at general aviation safety.

One of the FAA's top priorities is to reduce the number of fatal accidents in general aviation. While these accidents are down eight percent from last fiscal year, 303 people have lost their lives as of June 2010. We know there is significant work ahead needed to improve the general aviation safety record.

We have made significant progress by focusing on pilot education and awareness, and better technology has given pilots more safety tools. Over the past three years, fatal accidents from Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) have dropped by more than 50 percent compared to the previous three years. Those involving loss of control in flight and approach and landing are down 20 to 25 percent. Meanwhile, fatal accidents in weather have decreased by nearly 40 percent in the past three years, and those that occur at night are down by about 25 percent.

While these gains represent hard work across the aviation community, we continue to work on reducing the numbers. For instance, we have identified challenges in other areas such as accidents involving amateur-built aircraft. These accidents are on the rise and now account for 24 percent of all general aviation fatal accidents, versus just 10 percent a few years ago. The growing popularity of these aircraft has expanded the amateur-built fleet by about four percent annually in recent years, but the accident rate now outpaces that growth.

We also have to consider that flight hours in personal aviation have decreased in recent years, due to the spike in fuel prices and the economic downturn. So, while the accident numbers may seem to be improving slightly, we know that many pilots who reduced their flying are recreational pilots. Recreational pilots generally have higher accident rates than pilots who fly more frequently.

The FAA continues to work with the aviation community to develop non-regulatory, pro-active mitigation strategies. We have heightened our safety outreach to the personal flying pilot population through the FAA Safety Team and FAA Safety Briefing.

The FAA also has established the Amateur-Built Flight Standardization Board and is currently examining accident and incident data to develop mitigation strategies by working together with the aviation community. For information on what the FAA is doing to help improve the general aviation safety record, visit:

• FAA Safety Team
• FAA Safety Briefing

July 21-How does an airport suddenly go from being 2,000 feet to more than a mile high? Barring a "Hollywood-style" seismic event at your airport, the answer is density altitude; in other words, how high an aircraft "thinks" it is. When density altitude is high as a result of temperatures above standard at a given altitude, the air is less dense than normal. This means an aircraft will perform as if at a higher altitude with degraded climb performance and acceleration; two pretty important factors on a hot, humid day with a short runway and 50-foot pine trees looming at the end.

The article "Climbing into Thin Air," featured in the July/August issue of FAA Safety Briefing, offers more information on this "hot" topic.

"Density altitude is not just a concern for flying in the mountains," says FAA's Bryan Neville. "Hot temperatures can have an affect at any altitude." Neville, a former adjunct aviation professor and flight instructor with experience at both high- and low-elevation airports, suggests becoming familiar with the weight-and-balance and the performance and limitations sections of your pilot's operating handbook (POH) or airplane flight manual.

One the ways to keep your cool aloft on those hot summer days is to avoid takeoffs and landings at midday when temperatures are usually at their highest. Instead, take advantage of cooler mornings or evenings when the performance-robbing effects of high density altitude are not as pronounced.

For more tips on how to avoid the dangers of density altitude, see page 12 of the July/August issue of FAA Safety Briefing.

July 21 - The FAA is ordering U.S. operators of 138 Boeing 767 airplanes to reduce the initial pylon inspection time mandated in a September 22, 2005 Airworthiness Directive from 10,000 to 8,000 total flights. This inspection must be done within 400 flights after the most recent inspection required by the 2005 directive, or within 90 days, whichever occurs later.

The FAA is also reducing the interval for repetitive inspections for cracking of the pylon midspar structural fittings and an adjacent structure from 1,500 to every 400 flights thereafter. There is also an option for replacing the fittings instead of conducting the inspections.

Since the 2005 Airworthiness Directive (AD), the FAA has received two reports of cracking of the midspar structural fitting on Boeing 767 pylons. The pylon attaches the engine to the wing. Undetected cracking could lead to fracture of the structural components, damage to the pylon, and separation of the engine from the wing.

The Immediately Adopted AD affects 138 U.S.-registered airplanes out of 314 worldwide. The total cost to U.S. operators is approximately $46,920. The AD affects only those 767 models that have the original pylon design. Boeing has improved the design of the 767 pylon and those aircraft with the improved pylon designs are not included in this AD.

The AD is on display today at http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17611_PI.pdf

It will be published on July 22 at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

Rule requires re-registration of all civil aircraft over next three years.

July 9-The FAA is issuing an Airworthiness Directive (AD) that requires operators of Boeing 757, 767, and 777 airplanes to either inspect or replace certain flight deck windows. The AD only affects the forward viewing windows, not the side windows.

Operators have two options: Begin inspections within 500 flight hours and then continue at intervals that are specific for each of two window designs OR install a new, redesigned window. The inspection takes about an hour.

The AD is aimed at preventing smoke, fire or cracking of the inner layer of the forward viewing window caused by loose electrical connections that are used to heat the window to prevent ice.

Over the past two decades, there have been 11 reports of fire or flames on 757 (five events), 767 (three events), and 777 (three events) airplanes. Improper installation resulted in loose, improperly torqued or cross threaded screws that can contribute to overheating and arcing. The most recent incident was a May 16, 2010 emergency landing by a United 757 at Dulles International Airport.

The FAA proposed the AD in March 2008. The agency received extensive comments and determined additional 757 service information was needed from Boeing. That in-depth review identified unique issues on the upper electrical connections on 757s which will be addressed in a separate AD so as not to hold up the fix for the lower electrical connector issue which constitutes the majority of the service problems identified to date. Although there have been no fire events on 747s, the FAA plans to propose an AD this fall since those later model airplane windows are similar.
This AD affects 1,212 U.S. airplanes out of 2,619 worldwide. The estimated cost for the inspections is $103,020 total for U.S. operators. The window replacement is optional and would be an additional cost.

The AD is on display today at the Federal Today at http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17046_PI.pdf. It will be published on Tuesday, July 13, at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.

July 8 - There is little more important to pilots than being up to speed on weather. FAA Safety Briefing dedicates its July/August 2010 issue to this crucial safety topic. Articles address obtaining and interpreting weather data, developing strategies for avoiding marginal or hazardous weather, and what services ATC can, and cannot, provide in adverse conditions.

In her article, "The Whither and Whether of Flying in Weather," FAA Safety Briefing editor Susan Parson discusses how to fine tune your weather knowledge and build a framework for sound go, no-go decisions in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). "Part of being proficient and safe in IMC is knowing and adhering to your individual personal minimums," says Parson. "One way to approach this is to consider how comfortable you are in each of the different basic weather categories in aviation - VFR, marginal VFR, IFR, and low IFR."

Check out the July/August issue at www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/.

Today's Airline News from Airline News Resource

Michael Davis Photography posted a photo:

Wearing the test reg. of N273AE, this appears to be a new delivery for Polet Flight as the 340's are just now entering their passenger fleet. You can imagine my surprise when I saw it parked on the ramp here in Nashville, Tennessee!

hartlandmartin posted a photo:

Lithuanian Charter company Aurela own this 737. It's arriving from Glasgow to operate a flight to Ibiza on behalf of Thomas Cook.

hartlandmartin posted a photo:

Shot on a nice clear evening. The wrinkles in the fuselage from the continuous cycles of pressurisation/depressurisation shown clearly.

360 Photography posted a photo:

Lufthansa A330, Air Transat A310, Corsair B747, American Airlines B737

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

ETIHAD AIRBUS A340 (A340-500), A6-EHB, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

QANTAS AIRBUS A330 (A330-200), VH-EBH, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

AIR FRANCE BOEING 777 (777-200), F-GSPB, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

SINGAPORE AIRLINES BOEING 747 (747-400) 9V-SPA, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

CATHAY PACIFIC CARGO, BOEING 747 (747-400), B-HKS, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

AEROSVIT BOEING 767 (767-300), UR-VVT at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

CAYMAN AIRWAYS BOEING 737 (737-300), VP-CKW, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

DELTA BOEING 757 (757-200), N717TW, skyteam colors, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Mud$i posted a photo:

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

AEROFLOT, AIRBUS A330 (A330-300), VQ-BEL, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages posted a photo:

DELTA BOEING 767 (767-400), N845MH, Breast Cancer Awareness colors, at JFK, New York, USA. July, 2010. Copyright Tom Turner.

wasserberg posted a photo:

At London Heathrow airport

Jassy-50 posted a photo:

Would anyone know what airport this is? I'm guessing - Shanghai Hongqiao?

From the Postcrossing "Airlines" tag.

lisbokt posted a photo:

zieak posted a photo:

ameland 1732 posted a photo:

Waiting for the next haul to Indonesia