Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19310905: The first instrument landing by a system incorporating a glide path was made at College Park, Md. The glide path was achieved by aligning an inclined radio beam with the runway, providing a path approximating the gliding angle of an airplane. (See September 24, 1929.)
19340905: Wiley Post, the first pilot to use a successful pressure suit, reached about 40,000 feet over Chicago. Although this flight did not set a new altitude record, Post demonstrated the future of pressurized flying with this and later stratospheric operations.
19350905: Simultaneous transmission of radio beacon signals and voice was first put into regular service at Pittsburgh, Pa. (See July 1, 1937.)
19690905: AN FAA rule concerning the flight hazards associated with flying contraband drugs between Mexico and the United States went into effect. The rule made such illegal activity grounds for suspension or revocation of pilot certificates and of the operating certificates of aircraft owners or lessors knowingly involved. The rule also required all pilots to file flight plans and radio positions when operating civil aircraft between the two countries. Pilots without two-way radios were required to land at the nearest designated airport of entry and file an arrival notice.
In proposing the rule on August 1, FAA had cited President Nixon’s July 14 announcement of a government-wide campaign against drug smuggling. The agency stated that any pilot attempting to evade this increased enforcement effort could be expected to engage in such hazardous practices as very low flight to avoid radar or use of unprepared landing sites. Effective August 1, 1973, FAA extended its ban on illicit carraige of drugs by air to domestic flights and to flights between the United States and Canada.
19740905: FAA shut down the last four-course radio range still in operation, at Northway, Alaska, after more than 40 years of service. The four-course range was the first navigation system that enabled pilots to fly “blind”–that is, fly a direct line between airports when visibility was poor or nonexistent (see June 30, 1928). Beginning in the late forties, FAA replaced the system with the more efficient very-highfrequency omnidirectional range (VOR). The VOR’s higher frequency reduced static and its omnidirectional signal afforded guidance to pilots on any bearing from the transmitter. (See March 17, 1982.) The center antenna of the Northway range, now designated for use with a nondirectional beacon, remained in operation.
19860905: At Karachi, Pakistan, four men dressed as security guards stormed a Pan American 747. The flight crew escaped, but the four terrorists demanded a crew to fly them to Cyprus. They killed an American passenger during the ensuing 17 hour negotiations. When the lights aboard the aircraft failed, the terrorists began a massacre, killing 22 persons and injuring 125 before being arrested.
20070905: FAA issued a final decision for redesigning the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia metropolitan area airspace as part of efforts to reduce delays, fuel consumption, aircraft emissions, and noise. FAA held more than 120 public meetings in five states to complete the environmental planning process. The airspace redesign involved a 31,000-square-mile area over New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut with a population of 29 million residents. Twenty-one airports were included in the study.
20080905: FAA inspectors found an overall compliance rate of 98 percent in more than 5,600 audits of airworthiness directives at U.S. air carriers, acting Administrator Robert Sturgell announced. Alleged noncompliance in the audits fell into five categories: instances where the air carrier could not show compliance with the AD; cases where additional records were needed to prove compliance; cases where the air carrier did the work, but had to apply for an alternate means of compliance approval; situations where the AD work was not done, but the airplane was not flying; and other minor discrepancies not involving ADs. All noncompliance issues were corrected before the airplanes flew again, and FAA was investigating to determine if enforcement actions were warranted. Sturgell also provided a progress report on the safety initiatives announced in April 2008:
* Safety Issues Reporting System — Complete
* Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program Approvals — Complete
* Ethics Policy Enhancement — In progress; proposed rule expected next summer
* Aviation Safety and Analysis Sharing Program expansion — In progress
* Independent Review Team — Complete; with Secretary Peters for review
* Airworthiness Directive Review — In progress (See April 18, 2008; September 10, 2008.)
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This Day in FAA History: September 5th
