Gulfstream G600’s FAA Certification

   By the end of June 2019, the Gulfstream G600 earned FAA certification. The aircraft received both its type and production certificates on the same day from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The certifications cleared the way for the first completed G600 deliveries to customers as scheduled in 2019. The FAA type certification allowed G600 […]

The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)

On June 23, 1981, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator J. Lynn Helms announced the FAA’s decision to adopt the threat alert and collision avoidance system, soon renamed the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS). If there is a potential collision developing, the TCAS alerts the pilots and provides climb/descend instructions to them. In 1981, […]

Washington National Airport (DCA)

On June 16, 1941, Washington National Airport opened for full-time operations. President Roosevelt attended a ceremony and observed the first official landing. The airlines drew straws to determine who could land at National Airport first, and American Airlines won the honor. The plane was piloted by Bennett H. Griffin, who later became the manager of […]

Penalties for Pointing a Laser into a Cockpit

On June 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it would begin to impose civil penalties against people who point a laser into the cockpit of aircraft. Civil penalties imposed can be of up to $11,000 per violation. Laser strikes continue to stay at high levels with pilots reporting nearly 9,500 laser strikes to the […]