randy babbitt

When two airline pilots flew past their destination last month because they were intently focused on their laptops, several lawmakers likened it to drivers trying to text behind the wheel, and they introduced bills to ban personal electronic devices from the cockpit. Airlines and pilots have objected strongly to the proposals, saying they could stifle technology innovation and hinder attempts to add long-sought safety equipment on planes. Such a law could have "grotesque consequences" by preventing pilo

We need to be very careful   -Randy Babbitt

 

For the second time in a little more than a year, a technical problem at one of the two centers that handle flight plans for the nation's air travel system set off delays and cancellations for passengers around the country. Only two early morning flights were delayed at Pittsburgh International Airport, said JoAnn Jenny, a spokeswoman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Jenny said local air traffic controllers were able to enter information manually into the system to allow most of the flights

A good communications system should have enough redundancy that a failure shouldn't hurt it that badly   -Michael Ball

 

US FAA yesterday issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making "to put limits on airlines and other operators hiring FAA safety inspectors and their managers for two years after those employees leave the agency." It said the proposed rule "would prohibit air carriers, flight schools, repair stations and other certificated organizations from employing or contracting with former FAA inspectors and managers to represent them in agency matters if the former employee had any direct oversight of the certificate holder

We're committed to making sure operators don't hire their former FAA inspectors and create even a perception of inappropriate activities   -Randy Babbitt

 

Even though DOT Secretary Ray LaHood told the "Future of U.S. Aviation" forum last week that NextGen is not just an aviation or DOT issue, the Obama administration is sending differing signals about whether it would support a proposal for federal assistance for aircraft equipage. Senior White House economic aide Lawrence Summers and a broad industry coalition are calling for speedy government financial aid, and the group reportedly is supported by high-ranking federal transportation appointees. But the  

Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, plans to introduce a bill that would break a taboo in the airline industry: allowing airlines to use information from cockpit voice recorders in cases against pilots they want to discipline or fire. Current labor contracts effectively bar major U.S. carriers from relying on information gathered from cockpit-recorders, or, in some cases, flight-data recorders to punish pilots or monitor their performance during trips. But the proposed legislation seeks t  

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate's aviation panel, said he plans to grill FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt about the issue at a Dec. 10 hearing. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., chairman of the House aviation panel, said he has asked the transportation inspector general to investigate and report to Congress within 60 days.  

The glitch forced hundreds of commercial pilots flying that day into the default mode of entering their plans manually via email or by faxing them into the system, causing widespread flight cancellations and delays. Most flight plans are routine and pre-entered as a template in the system. Pilots normally make only few changes in their altitude, speed and directional plans, depending on weather conditions and the weight of the aircraft.  

The FAA said Thursday the computer outage that resulted in widespread flight delays and cancellations has been traced to major telecommunications system in Nevada. Problems began at about 5 a.m. EST and lasted for roughly four hours, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Agency officials said the outage was the result of a software-configuration problem at its Telecommunications Infrastructure in Salt Lake City, Nevada, that controls air-traffic flow.  

At approximately 5:00 am EST a router problem disrupted a number of air traffic management services including flight plan processing. The problem was resolved at approximately 9:00 am EST. Air traffic control radar and communication with aircraft were not affected during this time and critical safety systems remained up and running.  

The U.S. Census Bureau will recruit nearly 3.8 million applicants for 2010 Census field operations. Of these applicants, the Census Bureau will hire about 1.4 million temporary employees. Some of these employees will be using GPS-equipped hand-held computers to update maps and ensure there is an accurate address list for the mailing of the census questionnaires.