The policeman walked to the side of my car as I watched him in my mirror. I automatically handed over my license and registration . “Sir, you know that the state safety inspection for your car was due two months ago.” Being aware that I was overdue, the best I could summon up was “I’m … Continue Reading
The Chairman of the NTSB, Deborah Hersman, has left the Board to become the President of the National Safety Council. She leaves four eminently well qualified Board Members with Vice-Chairman Chris Hart in the role of Acting Chairman. Chris, a lawyer, pilot, engineer and former FAA official, is particularly well-suited to lead the Board thru … Continue Reading
After 48 days, it’s time to confront the reality that, other than the “pings” (assuming they were even from MH 370), we may never know what happened on March 8, or find any trace of the aircraft. When asked about this, both the Malaysians and the Australians have sidestepped the issue. The typical response has … Continue Reading
The attack on the FAA’s UAS policy has opened up a second front, this time before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The challenge was brought by Texas EquuSearch, a search and rescue organization, over a cease and desist letter they received from the FAA in February. The organization … Continue Reading
With those words, the President of South Korea announced that prosecutors would be deciding in the next several days whether to issue arrest warrants for two first mates, one second mate and a chief engineer who were aboard the ferry Sewol when it capsized and sank off South Korea’s south-west coast killing as many as … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, we reported on several fines issued by the FAA against shippers of dangerous materials, including a highly flammable, toxic herbicide. Everyone can easily see the risk posed by improperly placing such material on an airplane. The FAA’s latest proposed fine, however, highlights the fact that carriers are much more likely to face … Continue Reading
You’re Invited So You Want to Be in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Business: Everything You Don’t Know June 26, 2014 9:30 am – 4:30 pm EDT 1900 K Street, NW The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been mandated to integrate UAS’s into the U.S. civil airspace system. The present timetable calls for the FAA … Continue Reading
It used to be, when I started practicing law, that lawyers dressed like lawyers. Suits and ties in the office and in court. Over the years, casual Fridays became more and more institutionalized in the office. Ultimately, in many offices, every day became “casual Friday.” The one constant however, was a suit and tie in … Continue Reading
The searchers haven’t located anything yet…..no floating debris, no wreckage, no black boxes, no nothing. But what happens if the wreckage, along with the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, is located? How does the investigation proceed? We all know that under ICAO Annex 13, the Malaysian Government runs the investigation. This means that … Continue Reading
The 2015 Airline Symposium February 3-5, 2015 As the search for Malaysia Airline Flight 370 continues, the focus of our 2015 Symposium will be “An Airplane Is Down In a Foreign Country: Chapter Two. Even as the Blue Fin continues to scour the Indian Ocean, the developments we have seen to date provide a series … Continue Reading
The FAA took a major step forward in its efforts to reclaim its authority to regulate commercial operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the United States. As readers of this blog are aware, /2014/03/a-wake-up-call-reversal-of-faa-penalty-of-10k-for-flying-uas/ the FAA has been increasingly aggressive in sending out cease and desist letters to UAS operators and issuing substantial fines. … Continue Reading
Let’s take stock of where we are…………. lots of expressions of optimism ….. “ping” has become part of our daily vocabulary …….. the airplane flew at an altitude of four to five thousand feet …. the pilot, not the co-pilot, made the last transmission. The bottom line is that we really don’t know much more … Continue Reading
As the events involving MH 370 continue to unfold, we have all heard about the investigation protocols/procedures which are involved when an accident occurs in a foreign country. Some of the media coverage has mentioned the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Annex 13. When an accident occurs in a foreign country, ICAO Annex 13 … Continue Reading
As the FAA works towards the issuance of a rulemaking, we see a number of state legislatures starting to step in and fill the void, or, at least, the void which they perceive exists. According to a recent AP article, citing the National Conference of State Legislatures, bills regulating UASs were introduced in 40 states … Continue Reading
Note: This is the first of a continuing series of articles/checklists which will appear in Plane-ly Speaking and address how to effectively deal, on a step by step basis, with an emergency. It has been said that the very best emergency response plan is only good for the first few hours. It permits you to … Continue Reading
Federal authorities are stepping up criminal prosecutions of senior management in the aviation maintenance and repair industry, and something called the “Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine” (and it’s misuse) is making it a lot easier for them. Every Part 145 repair station is required to designate an Accountable Manager, who, as defined in the FARs, “is … Continue Reading
It’s been 30 days since MH 370 has gone missing. While the search goes on, and is hopefully narrowing, that hope should be tempered with reality. We have yet another theory now being advanced by the Malaysians that the aircraft was being flown to deliberately avoid Indonesian radar. C’mon guys! Haven’t we learned yet that … Continue Reading
FAA Proposes Large Fines For Shippers Of Hazardous Material Several developments this month have highlighted the FAA’s continued crackdown on shippers of unmarked and undeclared hazardous material. On April 1, the FAA proposed a $325,000 civil penalty against Alfa Chemical for allegedly shipping Arcolin on two separate occasions. Acrolin is a contact herbicide that is … Continue Reading
Even as the search for MHZ 370 continues, what has occurred the last several weeks provides to airlines and their insurers a number of lessons which are not to be ignored. -If you have an accident or incident in a foreign country, you are at the mercy of the foreign government and their accident investigation … Continue Reading
In a March 27, 2014, article appearing in National Defense, I observed that responsible companies, whether manufacturers, operators, or users which wanted to get into the commercial UAS business weren’t going to risk their assets or their brand until the FAA has put in place a regulatory structure addressing air safety and other concerns. http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=1456 … Continue Reading
Today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court in Northwest Airlines v. Ginsburg, http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-462_p8k0.pdf, shines a spotlight on the need for a strong federal presence in all aspects of aircraft operations. There cannot be a true “Federal Airspace” if standards of conduct come from a patchwork of state regulations and common law. Even in the … Continue Reading
CNN anchor Carol Costello, just yesterday, seemingly agreeing with the outrage of the daughter of the Malaysia Airlines captain, indicated “There just aren’t any hardcore answers.” Ms. Costello is absolutely correct! Not only are there no answers, but the Malaysian accident investigators continue, though incompetence and ineptness, to feed the outrage and the total lack … Continue Reading
Just a few days ago, a Chicago law firm filed a lawsuit/proceeding against Boeing and Malaysia Airlines in Chicago’s Cook County. /2014/03/mh-370-aviate-navigate-communicate-litigate/ Yesterday Judge Kathy Flanagan threw the case out of court, calling it without any basis and indicating that if the law firm did it again, she would sanction them. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-cook-judge-throws-out-malaysia-plane-suit-filed-by-chicago-firm-20140331,0,6665514.story In a court … Continue Reading
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds . . .” Regulatory inconsistency and misunderstanding invites chaos, confusion, and danger. The FAA, like many regulatory agencies, has had longstanding problems with inconsistent interpretation of the web of regulations it enforces. The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 mandated a review to determine the … Continue Reading
