After passing 23 temporary extensions, the Senate voted 75 to 20 Monday to approve a long-term funding bill for the FAA and sent it to the president for his expected signature.
Despite a five-year hiring surge, the Federal Aviation Administration is at risk of not having enough senior air traffic controllers for its busiest and most critical facilities, where they are needed to run operations and train less-experienced controllers, according to the agency's independent inspector general.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill moved closer Friday to an agreement to clear a long-stalled Federal Aviation Administration bill.
A flock of whooping cranes, grounded for nearly a month, can continue its journey south for the winter after getting a one-time exemption Tuesday from a federal agency.
A Southwest Airlines flight leaving for Seattle blew some main gear tires at California's Sacramento International Airport on Tuesday, forcing the crew to abort the flight and deplane passengers, according to an FAA spokesman.
The FAA announced a pilot fatigue rule which governs how much time off pilots have between work periods.
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday a sweeping final pilot fatigue rule governing how much time off commercial passenger pilots must have between work shifts, ensuring they have a longer opportunity for rest before they enter the cockpit.
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration will take a leave of absence after his arrest on a charge of driving while intoxicated, officials said Monday.
High above San Francisco Bay, Stan Cooper can get away from it all in his private plane. His five-decade passion for flying once threatened to upend his personal and professional life -- because of his own mistakes, and those of the government. It is a tale of accountability, one the Supreme Court is poised to tackle with oral arguments Wednesday.
The Supreme Court wrestled Wednesday with a familiar, if elusive, foe -- legislative intent -- when considering whether a California man should be compensated after the government violated his privacy by disclosing his personal medical history.
Air traffic controllers may be taking more risks in handling airliners under a 2-year-old rule allowing them to report errors without fear of punishment, congressional investigators say in a report highlighting a spike in incidents.
The Senate on Thursday passed a bill to fund the Federal Aviation Administration through January, preventing a second shutdown of the agency that regulates air transportation.
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $1.1 million fine against an aviation repair facility after the company allegedly made improper repairs as part of fuselage inspections on Southwest Airlines jets.
Safety and jobs are on the line. That was the consensus at a news conference Wednesday at Reagan National Airport just outside Washington.
Four people died Friday in a medical helicopter crash near Clay County Regional Airport in Mosby, Missouri, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Federal officials enacted new rules Friday requiring airlines to install updated ice detection equipment in certain smaller existing fleets, a step designed to boost passenger safety.
As late as this morning, it looked like if you had traveled while the Federal Aviation Administration was shut down, there was a good chance that the government owed you a tax refund.
President Barack Obama signed legislation Friday temporarily restoring full funding to the Federal Aviation Administration, breaking a political impasse and allowing roughly 4,000 furloughed federal employees to return to work.
FAA inspector Evelyn Martinez cries after hearing news that Congress has a temporary deal to end the stalemate.
Some Republicans love to talk about "job-destroying" progressive policies, but hate to own up to their own trickle-down ways. It's not that hard to get specific about the tepid economic recovery and all the Republican-backed policies that are destroying jobs though. Let me tell you about one we almost experienced.
A labor dispute is raging at the heart of a congressional spat over Federal Aviation Administration funding. The issue has left 4,000 federal workers sitting at home unpaid and tens of thousands of construction workers without work.
An oft-repeated statement that the Federal Aviation Administration's partial shutdown has forced the layoff of 70,000 construction workers is, at best, an over-simplification, and at worst, an exaggeration, according to the expert behind the number.
President Barack Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday urged Congress to immediately pass a temporary funding measure for the Federal Aviation Administration to put nearly 4,000 federal employees back to work and restart more than 200 airport construction projects.
Lawmakers on Wednesday appeared far from a deal to extend funding authority for the Federal Aviation Administration -- leaving some 4,000 federal employees and thousands more construction and support staff workers off the job.
Fmr. FAA Chief of Staff Michael Goldfarb says a partial shutdown of the federal agency threatens safety and the economy.
The U.S. Senate went on summer recess Tuesday night without taking action to fully fund the Federal Aviation Administration, all but assuring that almost 4,000 furloughed FAA workers will remain jobless for the next five weeks and preventing the agency from collecting $1.2 billion in aviation taxes.
Some 4,000 furloughed aviation workers are the latest casualty of political infighting in Washington.
The House adjourned for summer recess Monday night without resolving a Federal Aviation Administration funding impasse, almost guaranteeing that nearly 4,000 FAA employees will remain furloughed for the next month, and that the federal government will lose at least $1.2 billion in airline passenger tax revenue.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued additional "stop work orders" to construction and technology contractors after Congress failed to reauthorize funding for the federal agency.
Thousands of employees have been furloughed and dozens of major projects put on hold after Congress failed to reauthorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency said Monday.
Political stalemate nearly scored one for consumers.
Almost 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration workers are facing furloughs after Congress adjourned Friday without passing a measure to reauthorize the agency's funding, according to the Transportation Department.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged Tuesday it removed a Colorado air traffic controller from his post earlier this month after he failed an alcohol test.
The FAA is investigating a Colorado air traffic controller suspected of working while intoxicated. KMGH reports.
The senior official who was temporarily in charge of the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic controllers following the "sleeping controller" controversy has been given the job outright.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association announced details Friday of a new agreement on fatigue recommendations in the aftermath of several incidents involving controllers falling asleep on the job.
The FAA has ordered a review of the entire air traffic control system because of an incident at Reagan National Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday proposed fining AirTran Airways for allegedly operating an airplane not in compliance with regulations, the agency said.
Southwest Airlines disciplined a pilot whose profanity-laced rant about flight attendants was heard by other airplane crews and controllers, officials said Wednesday.
United Airlines is facing a $584,375 fine after a federal inspection showed that pilots and flight attendants were far more likely to be excused from the airline's random drug and alcohol tests than ground-based employees were.
In February 2009, CNN's Jeanne Meserve looked at reports of lasers being aimed at planes.
The FAA has seen the light. And it wants to put an end to it.
Delta Air Lines pilot Capt. Chad Smith was flying at 6,000 feet approaching Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City in March when he saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. It looked like lightning, he said, except for its color -- green.
Airline pilots and flight attendants would have to learn how to respond to "real world" scenarios and demonstrate those skills in flight simulators and in emergency drills under proposed FAA rules.
CNN's Jason Carroll reports on pilot training standards as the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 raises questions.
Is a 50% jump in errors by air traffic controllers evidence of a dangerous, mistake-prone work force?
CNN contributor Miles O'Brien demonstrates communication between pilots and air traffic control from inside the cockpit.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that it had shuffled some key management jobs as it continues its review of the controversy over sleeping and inattentive controllers.
Experts Michael Goldfarb and Mary Schiavo discuss whether air traffic controllers should get naps breaks on the job.
An air traffic controller at Seattle's Boeing Field has been fired for twice falling asleep on duty, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.
New technology to modernize America's aging air traffic system promises to help air traffic controllers and may have prevented a recent tarmac collision between two aircraft at a New York airport, say experts.
It's no surprise that a half-dozen air traffic control specialists were recently caught sleeping on the job. The Federal Aviation Administration is well aware that air traffic controllers have been falling asleep every week at each and every air traffic control facility in the nation for at least 30 years -- and they still are.
The Federal Aviation Administration has fired two air traffic controllers, one of whom worked in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the other in Miami, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday.
FAA in turmoil?
updated: Fri Apr 22 2011 09:52:00
More controllers asleep at the tower causes a management shuffle at the FAA. Jeanne Meserve reports.
A plane carrying Michelle Obama had to abort its landing on Monday after it came too close to a military C-17 cargo plane ahead of it, according to a senior administration official and the Federal Aviation Administration.
An air traffic controller in Ohio is the latest to get caught not doing his job, but this one wasn't sleeping in front of a radar position. He was watching a movie.
The Federal Aviation Administration suspended Saturday yet another air traffic controller for sleeping on the job, the seventh apparent incident this year the agency has disclosed.
Top officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the air traffic controllers' union kicked off a cross-country tour of air traffic control facilities on Monday, two days after a seventh reported case this year of a controller falling asleep on the job.
The Federal Aviation Administration official in charge of operating the air traffic control system has resigned amid revelations that several controllers have fallen asleep on the job this year, the FAA chief said Thursday.
The Federal Aviation Administration official in charge of operating the air traffic control system has resigned.
Unable to contact the control tower, a medical flight lands without help in Reno, NV. The 6th such instance in 2011.
Another air traffic controller apparently fell asleep while on duty, a problem that is prompting the government to put an extra staffer on midnight shifts at more than two dozen control towers across the country.
Ken Mellett's brow is furrowed as he gravely speaks of the need for more stringent air safety rules.
Are we any safer in the air since the plane crash in Buffalo two years ago? CNN's Allan Chernoff has an update.
A second air traffic controller has been found to have fallen asleep on the job, this one intentionally sleeping for five hours while a fellow controller, working alone, landed seven aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive Tuesday mandating operators of at least 80 older Boeing 737s to conduct inspections for wear and tear.
Government auditors said Monday they are launching an investigation into possible misuse of government-issued purchase cards at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Just days after a Boeing 737 flown by Southwest Airlines made an emergency landing with a hole in its fuselage, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a press release Monday that it will mandate operators of about 175 specific older Boeing 737s to conduct inspections for wear and tear.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday it will require additional inspections of certain older model Boeing 737-series aircraft.
After an unnerving event like the Southwest Airlines fuselage rupture, it is natural to wonder whether we have learned something new about aviation safety. To put it briefly, we haven't.
Two passengers who were aboard the Southwest Airlines flight diverted to Arizona describe the emergency landing.
A commuter plane with dozens of passengers aboard struck a flock of large birds, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday.
An air traffic control supervisor and the crew of a Southwest Airlines jet have been suspended after the controller asked the Southwest Boeing 737 to fly in the vicinity of a small Cirrus aircraft in an effort to check on the welfare of the pilot, authorities said.
You may think the country's air traffic control towers are bustling with activity around the clock, but it turns out that it's a lonely job late at night for workers in some places when few planes are landing and taking off.
When the air traffic controller on duty didn't answer pilots' calls, they were forced to land without guidance.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the nation's airlines to remove emergency oxygen masks from the restrooms on some 6,000 planes last month, but it only made the work public this week.
From the earliest days of aviation, pilots have relied upon paper maps to help find their way. Even in an era of GPS and advanced avionics, you still see pilots lugging around 20 pounds or more of charts.
Feeling crowded at the airport and on your flights? Get ready to have even more company when flying.
Federal aviation authorities say they are investigating a string of events that began Monday when a pilot spilled coffee on a cockpit panel, leading to a false hijack warning and culminating in the plane's emergency landing in Canada.
The Federal Aviation Administration says registration records for as many as one-third of all private aircraft are out-of-date and inaccurate, and has begun the process of re-registering aircraft in the United States -- a task made more urgent by the threat posed by criminals and terrorists.
A spike in the incidence of people pointing lasers into the cockpits of planes has the Federal Aviation Administration worried and encouraging public vigilance.
A Delta Air Lines flight to Russia made an emergency landing Sunday evening after encountering an engine problem shortly after takeoff from New York, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday a proposal to include pilots' photographs on their pilot licenses -- something that was required by law in 2004 but has yet to be enacted.
Aviation authorities are gearing up for a busy holiday travel season by clearing skies normally reserved for military aircraft in an effort to make room for more unfettered commercial travel.
Ever since an 18-foot chunk of fuselage ripped off an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 in mid-flight, aircraft metal fatigue has been a worry in the aviation industry. A flight attendant died and eight passengers were injured in the incident, which occurred in April of 1988.
The streaks in the southern California sky on Monday appear to have been an aircraft condensation trail, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.
Officials are slow to explain what looks like a missile launch off the California coast. CNN's Casey Wian reports.
Six years after Congress passed a law requiring photos on commercial pilots' licenses, a Republican congressman says he is dismayed that Federal Aviation Administration-issued licenses still have only two pictures on them -- those of Wilbur and Orville Wright.
One person died and three others were injured Sunday when a single-engine plane crashed near Farmingdale, New York, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday proposed broad new rules for medical evacuation helicopters and more modest changes for other commercial choppers. The rules hope to turn a deadly tide that has marred the industry in recent years.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has substantiated allegations of a Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector who previously charged the FAA ignored safety violations witnessed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the office said Tuesday.
Self-reported pilot and air traffic control safety information will be integrated for the first time to give the Federal Aviation Administration a more complete picture of safety concerns, the FAA announced Wednesday.
Federal aviation regulators slapped American Airlines on Thursday with the largest fine in history, charging that the carrier made thousands of unsafe flights.
A small plane crashed and burned near the municipal airport in Oceanside, California, Tuesday morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Continental Airlines faces a fine of $230,000 for violations of Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the agency said Tuesday.
Northwest Airlines violated more than 1,000 Federal Aviation Administration safety directives, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel has found, substantiating complaints of an FAA whistleblower.
The federal government is ordering airlines to perform more frequent inspections on certain Boeing 767 aircraft after cracks were found on engine pylons on two planes, saying undetected cracks could lead to engines separating from the wings.
More than 20 people were injured when a jetliner headed to California hit severe turbulence and landed in Colorado on Tuesday night, authorities said.
As many as 30 passengers were injured -- none critically -- after a United Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence and landed in Denver, Colorado, Tuesday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
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