This Day in FAA History: September 16th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19670916: Typhoon Sarah struck Wake Island with winds exceeding 140 miles per hour, knocking out the island’s electric power plant, air traffic control tower, air route traffic control center, and navigation aids. Damage to the island’s housing, sanitation system, and freshwater supply necessitated the evacuation of one fourth of Wake’s population.
19710916: The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that pilots who had suffered a stroke could not be automatically denied a first-class medical certificate. The Board stated that each pilot’s case must be treated separately rather than on the basis of general stroke statistics and predictions. The ruling reversed FAA’s denial of a first-class medical certificate to a pilot who had suffered a “pure motor stroke” in 1964. The Board noted that the pilot had met the pertinent rules and standards since the stroke, and hence his general medical condition allowed him to safely exercise the privileges of the certificate.
19770916: FAA closed the Airport District Offices at Denver, Salt Lake City, and Pierre, South Dakota, and transferred their services to Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and South Dakota to the Rocky Mountain Regional Office at Aurora, Colorado.
19850916: FAA dedicated the last of 800 contractor-installed solid-state VORTAC air navigation aids. VORTAC had long been an important element of the airspace system (see August 30, 1956). The new solid-state VORTACs were more reliable and energy-efficient than the tube-type equipment they replaced. In addition to installing the 800 units, the contractors delivered 150 VORTACs for FAA to install as sites were readied. The agency’s technicians had installed more than 60 of these systems by September 1985. The new VORTACs were the first FAA systems to have Remote Maintenance Monitoring (RMM), a feature that greatly reduced the need for site visits.
19920916: FAA published a rule allowing manufacturers to use a much less costly alternative method of determining whether light helicopters met noise certification standards. The new procedure employed fewer tests and microphones, but required helicopters to meet a standard that was two decibels more stringent than under the normal procedure.
19950916: Pres. Clinton declared Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands disaster areas due to Hurricane Marilyn. Aviation-related effects of the storm included severe damage to the tower at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. FAA worked with the Air Force to transport a mobile tower to the island, and took other actions to restore air service.
19960916: FAA announced the award of a contract to build the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) to a team led by Raytheon (see December 13, 1993). Under the contract, the team would develop and install new computers, displays and software for terminal radar approach control facilities (TRACONs). This joint procurement involved new equipment for up to 172 FAA and 199 DOD facilities. On September 17, FAA announced that the Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON was now operating an updated Automated Radar Terminal System IIIE (ARTS IIIE), the first of several new ARTS IIIEs that would provide improvements pending STARS implementation.
19960916: A team headed by Deputy Administrator Daschle submitted a report on a 90-day review of FAA safety regulation and certification (see June 17, 1996). Recommendations included: creation of a national team to assist local certification offices regarding new entrants into the airline industry; increased safety surveillance and growth management for new carriers; actions to ensure that carriers have the resources to operate a varied fleet and to support “outsourcing” of functions to contractors; additional support for inspectors through upgraded training, guidance material, and information technology; and increased inspector staffing. (See September 30, 1996.)
20140916: FAA released the “Recommended Practices for Human Space Flight Occupant Safety” report, which provided a framework for industry to use in developing consensus standards. The recommended safety practices were broadly written and primarily performance-based, stating a safety objective to be achieved, and leaving the design or operational solution up to the designer or operator. In developing the document, FAA’s office of commercial space transportation reviewed existing government and private sector requirements and standards to tap into the wealth of information that has been accrued through 50 years of human space flight. FAA also consulted with a wide audience, including the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, NASA, FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, and FAA’s Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation. (July 31, 2013.)
20140916: NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. The two companies planned to begin ferrying astronauts in 2017. (See May 22, 2012; January 17, 2016.)
20150916: FAA announced the award of $24.5 million in grants to 14 airports around the country to reduce emissions and improve air quality through FAA’s voluntary airport low emission (VALE) and zero emissions airport vehicle (ZEV) programs. VALE was designed to reduce all sources of airport ground emissions in areas that did not meet air quality standards. FAA established the program in 2005 to help airport sponsors meet their air quality responsibilities under the Clean Air Act. Through these programs, airport sponsors could use airport improvement program (AIP) funds and passenger facility charges to help acquire refueling and recharging stations, electrified gates, low-emission vehicles, and other airport-related air quality improvements. The ZEV program, created through the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, allowed airport sponsors to use AIP funds to purchase vehicles that produce zero exhaust emissions. AIP funds could cover up to 50 percent of these total project costs.
20160916: FAA’s new drone advisory committee (DAC) met for the first time. Brian Krzanich, Chief Executive Officer of Intel Corp., chaired the committee. FAA had announced plans to establish the committee the previous February. The DAC was formed under the RTCA federal advisory committee and planned to meet at least three times a year. Members discussed key issues and challenges associated with integrating unmanned aircraft in the world’s busiest and most complicated airspace system. (See August 29, 2016; May 29, 2018.)