Federal Aviation Administration

Four months after a fatal commuter plane crash that pointed to holes in pilot competency, the federal government Tuesday launched an investigation of the nation's smaller airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration's vow to step up inspections of how regional airlines train -- and work -- their pilots was issued under the pressure of congressional hearings that begin today. The hearings will explore pilot workforce issues at regional carriers and the FAA's scrutiny of airline safety standards.

With a valid automobile driver's license and 20 hours of flight training, people who dream of being pilots but are discouraged by the red tape and high costs will be able to solo in a new class of light aircraft created Tuesday by the government.

Hundreds of flights around the country were canceled or delayed Thursday after a communications failure at a Federal Aviation Administration computer center, leaving passengers scrambling to revise travel plans. The glitch, which occurred about 5 a.m. Eastern time, prevented airlines from electronically entering their flight plans into an FAA computer in Salt Lake City that air traffic controllers nationwide rely on. FAA officials blamed a failed circuit board in a networking system that is used to transfer flight data.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, United Airlines Flights 175 and 93 and American Airlines Flights 77 and 11 were hijacked by terrorists. As the attack unfolded, the flights were frantically tracked by air traffic controllers; the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA; and the Northeast Air Defense Sector, or NEADS, of the military's aerospace defense command. Following are excepts of the staff report on the events prepared for the commission investigating the attacks.

Two separate human errors caused a breakdown in radio communications that brought Southern California's major airports to a near-stop Tuesday and led to at least five instances in which planes came too close, Federal Aviation Administration officials said. "A loss of communication is a serious matter, and it should not have occurred," Rick Day, a senior FAA official, said Wednesday. On Tuesday, FAA officials had insisted that the more than three-hour system shutdown posed no safety risks.

Vice President Dick Cheney was huddled with top U.S. officials in a bunker below the White House on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when a military aide told him that a hijacked aircraft was 80 miles from Washington and closing in fast. The aide needed to know: Did Cheney want to give warplanes scrambled over Washington orders to shoot it down? Cheney did not hesitate. He authorized fighter aircraft "to engage the inbound plane."

Up to half the aircraft that land at Los Angeles International Airport each day now use an arrival technique that saves fuel and reduces noise and air pollution in neighborhoods along the eastern approaches to the nation's fourth-largest airport, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced. Officials said Thursday that the technique also increases the safety of landings, one of the most critical phases of a flight.

The pilot presumed to be at the controls of a private plane that crashed in heavy fog near Fullerton Airport, killing three people, was not qualified to make an instrument landing, federal aviation officials said Tuesday.

Federal Aviation Administration chief T. Allan McArtor sought to modify federal safety regulations covering air shows last year, according to knowledgeable sources, triggering a dispute among FAA officials over whether he was attempting to erode safety margins. McArtor wanted changes in regulations that, among other things, forbid stunt flying over spectators at low altitudes.

The FAA had evidence dating as far back as October, 1991, that Boeing 757 jetliners cause unusually dangerous wake turbulence, but the agency issued no public warning until last month--after the deaths of 13 people in two plane crashes believed to have been linked to the 757 phenomenon. The Federal Aviation Administration had previously said that it had indications of the problem since the beginning of last year.

Hundreds of flights around the country were canceled or delayed Thursday after a communications failure at a Federal Aviation Administration computer center, leaving passengers scrambling to revise travel plans. The glitch, which occurred about 5 a.m. Eastern time, prevented airlines from electronically entering their flight plans into an FAA computer in Salt Lake City that air traffic controllers nationwide rely on. FAA officials blamed a failed circuit board in a networking system that is used to transfer flight data.

Air traffic controllers were slow to notify the military when they lost contact with a Northwest Airlines jet for more than an hour last month, the top U.S. aviation regulator said Friday. "We should have been more agile. We can do a better job," Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt said about the Oct. 21 incident. The FAA has revoked the licenses of the two pilots for losing contact with air controllers and then overflying their destination by 150 miles on a flight from San Diego to Minneapolis.

Federal officials on Monday dealt a serious blow to a decades-long effort to restrict nighttime flights at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, asserting that to do so would harm the national air transportation system. The Federal Aviation Administration rejected a proposed curfew that would have banned flights by airlines, cargo operators, charter services and private pilots between 10 p.m. and 6:59 a.m. with some exceptions, including emergencies. The airlines now operate under a voluntary agreement not to fly between those hours.

The Federal Aviation Administration revoked the licenses Tuesday of the two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot a Minneapolis airport by 150 miles, saying that they "were on a frolic" that endangered the lives of others. The revocation report, released Tuesday, harshly condemned the two pilots and barred them from flying. "You engaged in conduct that put your passengers and your crew in serious jeopardy," FAA officials wrote in the report. The pilots -- Capt. Timothy B. Cheney, 53, of Gig Harbor, Wash.

For 15 minutes on Wednesday, I stood theoretically in the tower at Los Angeles International Airport and learned a little about how it feels to be an air traffic controller at the nation's third-busiest airport. Had it been for real, I would have been very, very worried. With about 1,400 commercial takeoffs and landings a day, LAX controllers have one of the most stressful jobs in aviation as they labor to keep a major transportation hub moving while staying at least one step ahead of disaster.

Four months after a fatal commuter plane crash that pointed to holes in pilot competency, the federal government Tuesday launched an investigation of the nation's smaller airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration's vow to step up inspections of how regional airlines train -- and work -- their pilots was issued under the pressure of congressional hearings that begin today. The hearings will explore pilot workforce issues at regional carriers and the FAA's scrutiny of airline safety standards.

Prompted by testimony last week about the crash of a commuter plane near Buffalo, N.Y., four senior senators have called for an independent investigation into federal oversight of regional carriers. In a letter released Tuesday, members of the Senate aviation safety subcommittee told the Transportation Department's inspector general, Calvin L.

Up to half the aircraft that land at Los Angeles International Airport each day now use an arrival technique that saves fuel and reduces noise and air pollution in neighborhoods along the eastern approaches to the nation's fourth-largest airport, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced. Officials said Thursday that the technique also increases the safety of landings, one of the most critical phases of a flight.

Federal authorities are questioning whether the agency that manages Los Angeles International Airport has illegally provided more than $40 million in revenue since 2002 to L.A. Inc., the city's convention and visitors bureau. The Federal Aviation Administration, which began a routine audit of airport expenditures in July, has tentatively concluded that Los Angeles World Airports allocated the money in apparent violation of federal laws that restrict how airport revenue can be spent. L.A. Inc.

The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to pay $4.5 million to the survivor of a fatal 2003 helicopter crash that a federal judge concluded was caused by air traffic controllers at Torrance Municipal Airport, an attorney said Wednesday.