Word: faa
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...threat of SAM attacks on U.S. airliners was acknowledged in an FAA study in 1993, which noted that as passenger and baggage screening became more rigorous, the chances of missile strikes would rise. The U.S. government's interest in the problem followed its decision to supply Afghan mujahedeen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan - whose ranks included Osama bin Laden and many of his al-Qaeda lieutenants - with about 1,000 Stinger missiles in the 1980s. Pentagon officials credit the Stinger with downing about 250 Soviet aircraft...
They call this "practice." And safety experts say many more drills like this one are needed. My New Mexico maneuvers were part of a two-day program sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and backed by the Air Line Pilots Association to teach pilots how to prevent "loss of control" incidents, now the No. 1 cause of airline fatalities. There is an urgency to this approach: the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, which killed 265 in November 2001, is considered a loss of control, perhaps triggered when the plane hit the wake of a jumbo jet while departing...
...growing concern that pilots don't know how to cope with surprises is the reason that the FAA is researching the use of real aircraft and simulated midair emergencies to train pilots how to react to unexpected and severe movements by the aircraft. "The challenge is dealing with pilots who have years and years of safely and gently flying along, and suddenly they have a mechanical failure or a severe-weather incident," says Lou Knotts, an ex--fighter pilot who is now a vice president at Veridian, a research company that trains military and civilian pilots. "We're trying...
...FAA has not applied its own rule consistently. For many years the agency did not enforce the age limit for pilots of foreign airlines, and even after it began to, in 1978, it issued waivers for several more years. Only in 1995 did the FAA extend the rule to U.S. pilots of smaller, commuter airlines. That move spurred Republican Senator Frank Murkowski of Alaska to sponsor legislation to lift the age to 63. It failed, but last month Murkowski reintroduced the bill, and the measure may be voted on by the Senate in a few weeks, though its prospects...
...rule. "It's the 'bloody hand' syndrome," says an aviation expert. "No one wants to support a change and then see a 67-year-old pilot crash a plane full of people." If the petition is rejected, Yetman's group plans to file a lawsuit against the FAA immediately. Meantime, McAndrew will keep flying. But maybe he should start thinking about a second career. Aren't some Washington politicians thinking about raising the age for Social Security benefits...