Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19401004: The Commerce Department’s new Aeronautical Advisory Council concluded its first meeting on this date. A permanent body to consult with Commerce officials on aviation policy, the Council included members from all sections of the country and all phases of civil aviation.
In fiscal year 1941, Congress allocated funds for developments at 193 sites in the United States and its possessions. To expedite results, CAA made cooperative arrangements with the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and the War and Navy Departments, since these agencies performed the actual construction in many cases. The total expenditure for the DLAND program was ultimately $383 million for 535 airports. After WPA aid to other agencies was suspended on February 1, 1943, the continuation of some of the DLAND projects came into question. In January 1944, however, an amendment to a war appropriations bill provided money to complete about 30 airports left unfinished by the WPA. Under that program, the Development of Civil Landing Areas (DCLA), CAA spent $9.5 million on 29 airports.
19501004: Donald W. Nyrop became Administrator of Civil Aeronautics. He succeeded Delos W. Rentzel (see June 1, 1948), who had submitted his resignation on September 18 to become Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board. Nyrop was Deputy Administrator when nominated to be CAA Administrator, and had previous service in the General Counsel’s office of both CAA and CAB. He received his B.A. degree from Doane College in 1934, and a law degree from George Washington University in 1939. (See May 18, 1951.)
19571004: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first manmade earth satellite, into orbit. (See January 31, 1958.)
19581004: British Overseas Airways Corporation inaugurated the first transatlantic jet passenger service, using de Havilland Comet 4 aircraft flying between New York and London. On the 26th of the same month, Pan American World Airways began the first U.S. scheduled jet service with Boeing 707 flights between New York and Paris. On December 10, 1958, National Airlines used leased 707s to begin the first U.S. domestic scheduled jet airline service, flying between New York and Miami.
19581004: CAA issued a Technical Standard Order containing revised standards for the design of runways to meet the requirements of both conventional and turbine-powered air carrier aircraft. Superseding an October 1948 standard, the new TSO (N6b) reduced the number of airport classifications for air carrier service from six to four, with corresponding changes in runway lengths, widths, and strength.
19601004: An Eastern Air Lines Electra plunged into Boston Harbor shortly after taking off from Logan Airport, killing all but 10 of the 72 persons aboard. The accident marked the fifth Electra crash in two years and touched off renewed demands to ground the aircraft, which was being allowed to operate by FAA under a reduced speed regime (see March 17 and December 31, 1960). The presence of many dead birds on the Logan runway helped to convince FAA Administator E. R. Quesada that the accident had probably been caused by ingestion of birds into the aircraft’s engines rather than structural failure. Quesada decided not to ground the Electra. This judgement was later supported by laboratory tests that pointed conclusively to bird ingestion. Following the Boston crash, FAA engaged in studies and research on the bird hazard and methods of protecting aircraft from the effects of bird strikes.
19641004: The Eastern and Southern regions jointly conducted a general aviation airlift exercise, called “Survival East and South 1964,” to test the effectiveness of general aviation in support of military operations and civil survival efforts in a national emergency.
19711004: FAA commissioned the first operational Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS) III, at Chicago’s terminal radar control facility at O’Hare International Airport. The basic ARTS III, when added to existing airport surveillance radars, permitted the display of such flight information as aircraft identity and altitude directly on the radarscopes for aircraft equipped with transponders. (See February 13, 1973.)
20011004: Reagan National Airport reopened for business, but under very tight security. Passengers had to undergo intense security screening and were limited to one carry-on bag and one personal item (a purse or briefcase). The first phase of the reopening included commercial flights by six airlines to the airports in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, New York (LaGuardia), and Newark. The six carriers were United, American, Delta, US Airways, Northwest, and Continental. (See September 28, 2001; October 13, 2001.)
20021004: FAA proposed a two-step program for getting more crash-resistant seats into airplane cabins. Once finalized, these steps would place current-standard “16g” seats in the U.S. fleet within 14 years. FAA proposed giving manufacturers of Part 121 and 135 aircraft four years to get the new seats onto production lines. In-service planes would require the upgrades within 14 years, or when seats were replaced as part of interior upgrades, starting four years after the rule’s publication. FAA would tackle the production lines first because new-build planes would have longer useful lives than in-service jets. A FAA study concluded that 16g seats – already in service on many planes – would prevent 114 passenger deaths and 133 serious injuries through 2020. The then-current 9g minimum standard, established in the 1950s, used a static test to measure how much force could be applied to a seat before it broke. The new 16g standard was based on a dynamic test using real-life crash impact data.
20221004: FAA issued a final rule requiring that flight attendants receive longer rest periods between shifts. The new rule increases the rest period from 9 to 10 consecutive hours.
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This Day in FAA History: October 4th
