This Day in FAA History: December 18th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19261218: The first issue of Domestic Air News, the Aeronautics Branch official publication, appeared. (See July 1, 1929.)
The regulations required all aircraft engaged in interstate or foreign commerce to be licensed and marked with an assigned identification number. Pilots of licensed aircraft were required to hold private or commercial licenses. Commercial pilots were classed as either transport or industrial. Mechanics repairing aircraft engaged in air commerce were required to secure either engine or airplane mechanic licenses, or both. Owners, pilots, and mechanics affected had until March 1 (later extended to May 1), 1927, to place their applications on file. Pending action on these applications by the Aeronautics Branch, those applying by the specified date could continue operating as previously until July 1, 1927. Failure to apply as required was punishable by a $500 fine. The regulations also prescribed operational and air traffic safety rules. (See March 22, 1927.)
19411218: The Secretary of War requested that long-range CAA projects for commissioning air route traffic control centers and completing the interphone and teletype network “be expedited to the fullest extent possible in the interest of National Defense.” By mid March 1942, CAA had established seven new centers: Memphis, January 15; Kansas City, February 1; San Antonio, February 15; Denver and Albuquerque, March 1; and Great Falls and Minneapolis, March 15. (See Appendix V for listing of all ARTCC commissionings.)
19671218: The Post Office Department imposed requirements on air taxi operators desiring contracts for carrying U.S. mail. To qualify, air taxi aircraft had to have at least two engines, complete deicing equipment, and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability. Similarly, air-taxi pilots were required to have an IFR rating, a minimum of 500 flight hours, 50 hours of night operations, and 50 hours of IFR operations under actual IFR conditions.
19691218: FAA certificated the first all-plastic aircraft, the Windecker AC-7, a four-place craft made of moulded fiberglass and epoxy resins.
19721218: FAA commissioned the first of 64 standardized, prefabricated airport towers, ordered in April, at the Chino, Calif., airport. FAA planned to complete installation of all 64 towers at low and medium activity airports within 15 months.
19741218: Secretary of Transportation Claude S. Brinegar announced his resignation, effective February 1, 1975. (See February 2, 1973.)
19911218: President Bush signed the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, designed to help develop intermodal travel through a range of actions, one of which was improving access to the country’s airports. On May 11, 1992, DOT invited the 50 states to submit proposals for development of intermodal transportation plans, including aviation as well as surface modes. On July 2, 1992, DOT established a new Office of Intermodalism.
19921218: Eight fatalities occurred when a Cessna 550 crashed after encountering wake turbulence behind a Boeing 757 during descent into Billings, Mont. The National Transportation Safety Board subsequently cited the probable cause as the pilot’s failure to follow established wake turbulence procedures. Nevertheless, the accident increased concerns that 757 wake turbulence might represent a special problem, an issue raised within FAA by Chief Scientist Robert Machol. (See November 1, 1975, and December 15, 1993.)
20151218: The United States signed a new air transport agreement with Mexico. The agreement benefited U.S. and Mexican airlines, travelers, businesses, airports, and localities by allowing increased market access for passenger and cargo airlines to fly between any city in Mexico and any city in the United States. Cargo carriers now had expanded opportunities to provide service to new destinations not available under the former, more restrictive agreement.
20171218: FAA announced it would ban UAS flights over seven Department of Energy facilities, effective December 29. The ban included Washington State’s Hanford Site, Idaho National Laboratory, New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, South Carolina’s Savannah River National Laboratory, Texas’ Pantex Site, and Tennessee’s Y12 National Security Site and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (See October 5, 2017.)
20181218: India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced that after a FAA audit completed in July 2018, India had retained its Category 1 aviation safety rating. FAA conducted the audit to confirm India’s adherence to ICAO standards. (See April 8, 2015.)
20231218: The Transportation Department announced a $140 million fine against Southwest Airlines over a meltdown last winter that disrupted travel for about two million people during the holiday season. Of the $140 million, Southwest Airlines will pay $35 million to the federal government. For the remaining amount, the department is giving the airline credit for providing frequent-flier points as an apology to customers affected by the meltdown and agreeing to give out tens of millions of dollars in vouchers to customers affected by future delays and cancellations. The fine is roughly 30 times what had previously been the department’s largest penalty against an airline for consumer protection violations, a $4.5 million settlement with Air Canada in 2021 over customer refunds.