Federal Aviation Administration

FAA shuts down Hawaii cargo operator Transair

Images from NTSB of airliner fuselage at bottom of ocean, cracked up.

The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended the operating authority of Honolulu-based Rhoades Aviation after one of its Transair cargo jets crash-landed in the ocean early this month.

The agency said safety investigators had been looking at the company since last fall and that it will be prevented from flying or conducting maintenance inspections until it complies with FAA regulations.

The agency’s decision is separate from the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/faa-shuts-down-hawaii-cargo-operator-transair

FAA gives passenger airlines 6-month extension for cabin cargo

Workers put boxes in yellow seat bags in the passenger cabin of a plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration has extended until the end of the year the exemption for U.S. commercial airlines to carry cargo in the main cabin when passengers are not present, citing an ongoing need to provide extra cargo lift capability while passenger traffic remains below pre-pandemic levels.

The trade group Airlines for America had requested a one-year extension for cargo-in-cabin flights, but the agency said in a Friday ruling that air travel is returning to normal and could soon...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/faa-gives-passenger-airlines-6-month-extension-for-cabin-cargo

FAA creates database for sharing of pilot records

Pilots in cockpit. View from behind looking out the window during flight.

Nearly a dozen years after being mandated by Congress, the Federal Aviation Administration is finally modernizing its system for sharing records of pilot performance and qualifications to improve aviation safety. Commercial cargo and passenger airlines next summer will be required to begin submitting current and historical data on pilots and searching the electronic clearinghouse to help assess pilot skill and performance when making hiring and personnel management decisions.

The rulemaking is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/faa-creates-database-for-sharing-of-pilot-records

Watchdog spotlights FMCSA’s, other agencies’ disjointed drug testing verification

A federal watchdog is recommending the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) better coordinate trucking and other transportation regulators to improve the reliability of drug and alcohol data.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released on Wednesday, acknowledged that DOT, its modal agencies and the U.S. Coast Guard (which is part of the Department of Homeland Security) have taken steps to ensure that drug and alcohol testing data reported by employers is reliable.

“These data...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/watchdog-spotlights-fmcsas-other-agencies-disjointed-drug-testing-verification

Truck Talk: Flying things edition

This week, we go airborne with the Workhorse Horsefly drone, consider a high-flying SPAC for a vertical-takeoff-and-landing jet maker and dive deeper into Cummins’ deal to make medium-duty engines for Daimler Truck.

Click here to get Truck Talk delivered via email at 11 a.m. every Friday.

Gonna fly now

So much has been made of Workhorse Group’s losing out on the U.S. Postal Service contract for next-generation mail trucks that it was easy to overlook the update on the company’s truck-mounted...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-talk:-flying-things-edition

Transportation consultant Joshi named FMCSA deputy administrator

Meera Joshi, a transportation consultant who is an advocate for “data-driven policy and urban planning” according to her LinkedIn profile, has been named deputy administrator at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Thursday.

Joshi takes the reins from Wiley Deck, who had been FMCSA’s Deputy Administrator since Acting Administrator Jim Mullen left the agency in August.

Joshi, who most recently worked as the New York general...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transportation-consultant-joshi-named-fmcsa-deputy-administrator

Exclusive: Chao acknowledges COVID-19 challenges for transportation sector

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will face challenges in 2021 as it works to help distribute COVID-19 vaccines, but the agency is up to the task, according to DOT Secretary Elaine Chao.

In a Friday farewell letter obtained by FreightWaves that was emailed to department employees, Chao stated that the men and women at DOT “have had an integral role” in helping the country get through the pandemic, and that transporting vaccines is the key to getting back to normal.

“In the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/exclusive-chao-acknowledges-covid-19-challenges-for-transportation-sector

Amazon, American Airlines execs to advise FAA on drone regulation

Two people look at a document with a drone positioned in the foreground.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday named a dozen new members to its Drone Advisory Committee, including officials from Amazon and American Airlines.

The private-sector panel meets regularly to advise the Federal Aviation Administration on how to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace alongside with traditional aircraft. Executive-level representatives are selected from a wide range of stakeholders including the aviation industry, research and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-american-airlines-execs-to-advise-faa-on-drone-regulation

New FAA rules put drone delivery closer to reality

A five-rotor drone lifts a package into the air.

Long-awaited regulations released Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration represent a big step toward wide-scale commercial use of drones in the U.S., including for package and cargo delivery, and full integration into the national airspace. 

The rules require unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to broadcast identification or location information and allow operators of small drones to fly over people and vehicles, and at night under certain conditions. The next major step toward integration is...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/new-faa-rules-put-drone-delivery-closer-to-reality

FAA endorses Moderna COVID vaccine for pilots

Inside a cockpit simulator.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday gave commercial pilots and air traffic controllers the green light to take Moderna Inc.’s (NASDQ: MRNA) COVID-19 vaccine, eliminating the possibility those who take the new drug might violate their medical certifications.

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Moderna’s vaccine for public use on an emergency basis and the FAA quickly moved to endorse usage for two groups of essential transportation workers, as it did a week ago...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/faa-endorses-moderna-covid-vaccine-for-pilots

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