Recently, a congressional panel reviewed (among other things) the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) plan to implement the recommendations issued by the FAA Consistency of Regulatory Interpretation Aviation Rulemaking Committee (CRI-ARC) that Sarah MacLeod and I served on for over 18 months. Without boring you, the main thrust of the CRI-ARC was a recommendation to unite […]

One of the cold, hard facts about government shutdowns is they really aren’t “closed.”  Yes, non-essential government employees are technically “furloughed” but the Congress ultimately ends up paying them for that lost time.  Call it congressional guilt. And the private businesses that rely upon those employees for certain services during the shutdown?  Well, they get […]

According to reports, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Safety organization is operating with reduced numbers. For design and production services (Aircraft Certification Services—AIR) that means about 100 employees; for Flight Standards Services (AFS) there are about 200 personnel system-wide. AIR has not halted airworthiness directives but all other activities are virtually at a standstill. The […]

Do you know whether you are a hazardous material (hazmat) employer? If you guess at the answer and are wrong the government has multiple methods of making you understand your responsibilities. The main regulations regarding handling and transporting hazmat are contained in Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 171 through 180 with additional […]