FAA
Photo: Is SpaceX Ready for Liftoff?
With another “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” the second Starship test in November was a mixed success.
SpaceX Makes Progress on Second Test of Starship
The private sector space company overcame red tape and government delays to get to launch day.
Lawmakers and Unions Defend Burdensome Airline Regulations With Bogus Statistics
The world's largest union of pilots says this requirement is necessary for safety and not unduly burdensome, but its data are misleadingly cherry-picked.
SpaceX: FAA Is Slowing Progress to the Moon
“If you’re able to build a rocket faster than the government can regulate it, that’s upside down.”
Airlines Ask FAA To Regulate Competitor Out of Business
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and the largest union of pilots want the government to change regulations that allow a smaller competitor to operate.
Government Ruins Yet Another Holiday Travel Weekend
Phantom thunderstorms scotch thousands of flights, because the FAA sucks.
Senate Democrats Say Modernizing Airline Pilot Training Requirements Will Kill People
If a proposal to let pilots do more of their training on flight simulators passes, supporters will have "blood on your hands," says Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
Blame the Feds for Your Canceled Flight This Memorial Day
Staffing shortages and laughably out-of-date technology in the federal government's air traffic control system are leading to a lot more flight delays.
Environmentalist Lawsuit Could Delay SpaceX's Starship Launches for Years
The FAA required SpaceX take 75 separate actions to mitigate the environmental impacts of launches from its Boca Chica, Texas, launch site. A new lawsuit says it's not enough.
Are These Obscure FAA Regulations Putting Babies in Danger?
Restrictions on baby carriers during takeoff and landing are based on a single study from 1994 that didn’t even study these types of devices.
Blame America's Air Traffic Control System for Your Flight Delay
In countries that privatized, there are fewer delays and costs are lower. But labor unions and the private plane lobby stand in the way.
Southwest Is Already Paying Billions for Screwing Up Your Travel. What About the FAA?
The airline will either clean up its act or go out of business. Meanwhile, the government plods along.
Aviation Groups Have Complained for Years About the Outdated FAA Alert System That Crashed Today
Critics say the NOTAM system creates safety hazards by overloading pilots with hard to read and superfluous information while failing to alert them to real hazards.
What the Southwest Meltdown Means for Airline Policy
Re-regulating the airline industry won’t help prevent massive service disruptions in the future.
NIMBY Laws Are Blocking Humanity's Future Among the Stars
The regulations that increase building costs on Earth will have the same effect in space.
From Space Regulator to Astronaut: Q&A With George Nield
He spent his government career thinking about space. Then he got to fly.
Government Eyes In the Sky
The federal government and police are finding new ways to use drones to invade privacy.
Regulation Kills Innovation. So These Entrepreneurs Didn't Ask for Permission.
From SpaceX and Tesla to Uber and Lyft, many of the most successful companies thrived without the government's stamp of approval.
United Airlines Wants To Bring Back Supersonic Air Travel. Will the FAA Let It?
The company has agreed to purchase 15 supersonic airliners from Denver-based aerospace startup Boom.
Safety Investigators Confirm the 'Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act' Wouldn't Have Prevented the Fatal Crash That Killed Lakers Legend
The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed that a costly terrain warning system lawmakers wanted to mandate in response to Bryant's death would have been a non-factor in the accident that killed him.
Still Waiting for Drone Deliveries
At the end of August, the FAA finally gave Amazon approval for its Prime Air drone delivery fleet.
Feds Finally Give Amazon Permission for Drone Deliveries in the U.S.
America has been lagging behind other countries.
Sen. Mike Lee Would Let You Decide if Drones Can Fly Less Than 200 Feet Above Your House
The Drone Integration and Zoning Act seeks to expand private property rights and give localities more say in airspace regulation.
Trump Says FAA Will Ground Boeing Model That Crashed in Ethiopia
"The safety of the American people and all people is our paramount concern," Trump said.
Shutdown-Induced Bottlenecks at Nation's Airports Shows Folly of Letting the Federal Government Run Things
Farming out airport security and air traffic control would help to immunize air travel from the Congressional budget chaos.
New FAA Reauthorization Bill Tackles Seat Size, Supersonic Jets
Congress gives a nod to new technologies in renewing the aviation safety agency's legal authority, while punting on real reforms.
FAA Decides Against Airline Seat Size Regulation
The agency decided that airline seat sizes don't have a discernible effect on passenger safety.
Clear the Runway: The Fight Over 'Uber for Planes' Is Coming to Congress
The FAA banned flight-sharing apps, but Sen. Mike Lee has introduced a bill to overturn that decision.
Deploy the Taco Copters! Trump Administration Looks to Loosen Drone Regulations
The Department of Transportation will experiment with expanding what commercial uses are allowed.
Lawmakers Want Heavy-Handed Regulation of Lighter-Than-Air Balloons
Regulators, for once, are pushing back.
How the FAA Killed Uber for Planes
Flight-sharing helped fill seats on small, private trips and cut costs. But regulators stopped it.
Rural Senators and Private Jet Operators Threaten Air Traffic Control Reform
The Senate apparently wants to leave the current out-dated, needlessly expensive FAA system in place.
Time to Get U.S. Air Traffic Control Out of the 1960s
Dozens of countries have modernized successfully.
Trump Proposes Major Overhaul of Outdated U.S. Air Traffic Control System
And believe it or not, his proposal isn't half bad.
Drone Registry Repeal a Victory for Permissionless Innovation
Hobbyists freed from shackles of new FAA regulations.
The Future is Now: Chipotle (With Help From Google) Will Deliver Burritos Via Drone
Great accomplishment in the history of human flight, or the greatest accomplishment in the history of human flight?
New FAA Drone Rules Kick In, But Drone-based Deliveries Still Grounded
We'll have to keep dreaming about the day the Tacocopter will forever change the way humans fulfill their cravings for Mexican food.
Extremely Rare Deadly Balloon Tragedy Leads to Familiar Calls for More Regulation
Is more oversight truly needed, or just more risk awareness?
How the FAA Killed Supersonic Flight—And How It Can Revive It
If not for Federal Aviation Administration meddling in supersonic flight innovation, we could zip around the world in a fraction of the time.
Ground Drones Will Beat Air Drones
Betting on Starship Technologies' ground game against Amazon.com's aerial enterprise.
The FAA's New Drone Registration Rules Are Out, and They're Hilarious
Agency demands you retroactively report any device weighing more than half a pound.
A DMV for Drones? Inside the FAA's Clumsy Push to Regulate Flying Computers
A series of poor proposals from the Federal Aviation Administration threatens to ground much of the commercial drone industry before it even takes flight.