Federal Aviation Act of 1958
Encyclopedia
The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 was an act of the United States Congress
, (signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
), that created the Federal Aviation Agency (later the Federal Aviation Administration
or the FAA) and abolished its predecessor, the Civil Aeronautics Administration
(CAA). The act empowered the FAA to oversee and regulate safety
in the airline industry and the use of American airspace
by both military aircraft
and civilian aircraft
.
with regulatory powers over civil aviation. Among the functions the Aeronautic Branch performed were pilot testing and licensing
, issuing aircraft airworthiness certificate
s, establishing and enforcing safety regulations. The agency was also responsible for establishing airways and operating and maintaining aids to air navigation, in addition to investigating accidents and incidents.
In 1934, the Aeronautics Branch was renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce. In 1936 the Bureau took over air traffic control centers previously operated by commercial airlines, and began to expand the air traffic control
system.
In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Act moved oversight non-military aviation into a new, independent agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The new agency gained the authority the power to regulate fares and routes for commercial airlines. Another change followed in 1940, with CAA's authority being split. The CAA continued to have authority for air traffic control, safety, and promotion of civil aviation. The new Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was established and had responsibility for accident investigation, as well as regulation of safety of civil aviation and pricing of commercial aviation.
A boom in the 1950s of aircraft technology and the airline industry crowded American airspace, and the regulation of air traffic was considered antiquated.
In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
appointed Edward Peck Curtis
as Special Assistant for Aviation. Later that year, Curtis was named by Eisenhower to head a commission to study the dramatic increase in airline traffic and to propose ways to deal with airplane traffic jams at airports.
From that commission came a proposal to create a new Federal aviation agency that would replace the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Civil Aeronautics Board to consolidate air operations, modernize the airways and to make and enforce safety rules.
An ensuing series of plane accidents prompted the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration
.
over the Grand Canyon
, resulting in 128 deaths, which was at the time the largest loss of life in an aviation accident. This high profile accident, which took place in uncontrolled airspace, raised public concern for airline safety. In 1957 Congress passed the Airways Modernization Act that established the Airways Modernization Board (AMB) headed by General Elwood Quesada.
Two subsequent mid-air collisions between military aircraft and commercial airliners, one near Las Vegas, Nevada
(United Airlines Flight 736
) on April 21, 1958, where 49 died, and one involving Capital Airlines
over Brunswick, Maryland
a month later on May 20 that 11 cost lives, showed further imperfections in the regulation of air traffic, particularly the need for unified control of airspace for civil and military flights. The day after the Brunswick collision, Senator Mike Monroney
and Representative Oren Harris
introduced the Federal Aviation Act. Two days after the Capital Airlines mid-air, a stopgap presidential proclamation was issued that 1) required military jet aircraft to fly by Instrument Flight Rules while in the civil airways below 25,000 ft. (later reduced to 20,000 ft.); 2) prohibited jet penetration swoops from high to low altitudes through civil airways. An exception was made for emerency jet-bomber and fighter "scrambles," which would be continued whenever necessary for the national defense.
Citing "recent midair collisions of aircraft occasioning tragic losses of human life," President Eisenhower announced the White House's support of the legislation on June 13. The legislation passed Congress and was signed into law by Eisenhower on August 23, 1958. Eisenhower appointed AMB Chairman Quesada the first FAA Administrator.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the DoD and FAA on the Future of Radar Approach Controls in the National Airspace System
, 14 December 1988, states that the FAA "determines the standard for NAS equipment and ATC facilities" and that the "DoD will equip facilities providing services to civil users so that the ATC service is transparent to the user."
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, (signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
), that created the Federal Aviation Agency (later the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
or the FAA) and abolished its predecessor, the Civil Aeronautics Administration
Civil Aeronautics Administration
Civil Aeronautics Administration may refer to:*Civil Aeronautics Administration - a division of Ministry of Transportation and Communication, Executive Yuan, Republic of China...
(CAA). The act empowered the FAA to oversee and regulate safety
Air safety
Air safety is a term encompassing the theory, investigation and categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation, education and training. It can also be applied in the context of campaigns that inform the public as to the safety of air travel.-United...
in the airline industry and the use of American airspace
Airspace
Airspace means the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere....
by both military aircraft
Military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
and civilian aircraft
Civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work together to establish common standards and recommended practices...
.
Background
Aviation in the United States was unregulated until the Air Commerce Act became law in 1926. The Act created an Aeronautic Branch within the United States Department of CommerceUnited States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
with regulatory powers over civil aviation. Among the functions the Aeronautic Branch performed were pilot testing and licensing
Pilot licensing and certification
Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits to fly aircraft that are issued by the National Aviation Authority in each country, establishing that the holder has met a specific set of knowledge and experience requirements. This includes taking a flying test. The certified pilot can then...
, issuing aircraft airworthiness certificate
Airworthiness certificate
A Certificate of Airworthiness , or an airworthiness certificate, is issued for an aircraft by the national aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is registered. The airworthiness certificate attests that the aircraft is airworthy insofar as the aircraft conforms to its type design...
s, establishing and enforcing safety regulations. The agency was also responsible for establishing airways and operating and maintaining aids to air navigation, in addition to investigating accidents and incidents.
In 1934, the Aeronautics Branch was renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce. In 1936 the Bureau took over air traffic control centers previously operated by commercial airlines, and began to expand the air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
system.
In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Act moved oversight non-military aviation into a new, independent agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The new agency gained the authority the power to regulate fares and routes for commercial airlines. Another change followed in 1940, with CAA's authority being split. The CAA continued to have authority for air traffic control, safety, and promotion of civil aviation. The new Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was established and had responsibility for accident investigation, as well as regulation of safety of civil aviation and pricing of commercial aviation.
A boom in the 1950s of aircraft technology and the airline industry crowded American airspace, and the regulation of air traffic was considered antiquated.
In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
appointed Edward Peck Curtis
Edward Peck Curtis
Major General Edward Peck Curtis began his career as a lieutenant in World War I. His six aerial victories made him a flying ace.Born in Rochester, New York, Edward Peck Curtis was a graduate of St. Georges School, Newport, Rhode Island...
as Special Assistant for Aviation. Later that year, Curtis was named by Eisenhower to head a commission to study the dramatic increase in airline traffic and to propose ways to deal with airplane traffic jams at airports.
From that commission came a proposal to create a new Federal aviation agency that would replace the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Civil Aeronautics Board to consolidate air operations, modernize the airways and to make and enforce safety rules.
An ensuing series of plane accidents prompted the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
.
Mid-air collisions spur change
On the morning of June 30, 1956, United Flight 718 collided with TWA Flight 21956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision
The 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision occurred on Saturday, June 30, 1956 at 10:30 AM Pacific Standard Time when a United Airlines passenger airliner struck a Trans World Airlines airliner over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, resulting in the crash of both planes and 128 fatalities...
over the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
, resulting in 128 deaths, which was at the time the largest loss of life in an aviation accident. This high profile accident, which took place in uncontrolled airspace, raised public concern for airline safety. In 1957 Congress passed the Airways Modernization Act that established the Airways Modernization Board (AMB) headed by General Elwood Quesada.
Two subsequent mid-air collisions between military aircraft and commercial airliners, one near Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
(United Airlines Flight 736
United Airlines Flight 736
United Airlines Flight 736 was a daily U.S. transcontinental passenger flight operated by United Airlines that crashed on April21, 1958. The aircraft assigned to Flight 736, a Douglas DC-7 airliner carrying 47 persons, was flying at cruise altitude above Clark County, Nevada, en route to a stopover...
) on April 21, 1958, where 49 died, and one involving Capital Airlines
Capital Airlines
Capital Airlines was an airline serving the eastern United States that merged into United Airlines in 1961. Its primary hubs were National Airport near Washington, DC, and Allegheny County Airport near Pittsburgh. In the 1950s it was the largest US domestic carrier after the Big Four . Its...
over Brunswick, Maryland
Brunswick, Maryland
Brunswick is a city in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,870 at the 2010 census.- History :The area now known as Brunswick was originally home to the Susquehanna Indians. In 1728 the first settlement was built, and the region became known as Eel Town, because the...
a month later on May 20 that 11 cost lives, showed further imperfections in the regulation of air traffic, particularly the need for unified control of airspace for civil and military flights. The day after the Brunswick collision, Senator Mike Monroney
A. S. Mike Monroney
Almer Stillwell "Mike" Monroney was a Democratic Party politician from Oklahoma.He represented Oklahoma's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 until 1951 and represented Oklahoma in the United States Senate from 1951 until 1969.Monroney graduated from...
and Representative Oren Harris
Oren Harris
Oren Harris was a U.S. Representative and United States District Court Judge from Arkansas.-Background:Born in Belton, Arkansas, Harris attended public schools in Prescott, Arkansas....
introduced the Federal Aviation Act. Two days after the Capital Airlines mid-air, a stopgap presidential proclamation was issued that 1) required military jet aircraft to fly by Instrument Flight Rules while in the civil airways below 25,000 ft. (later reduced to 20,000 ft.); 2) prohibited jet penetration swoops from high to low altitudes through civil airways. An exception was made for emerency jet-bomber and fighter "scrambles," which would be continued whenever necessary for the national defense.
Citing "recent midair collisions of aircraft occasioning tragic losses of human life," President Eisenhower announced the White House's support of the legislation on June 13. The legislation passed Congress and was signed into law by Eisenhower on August 23, 1958. Eisenhower appointed AMB Chairman Quesada the first FAA Administrator.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the DoD and FAA on the Future of Radar Approach Controls in the National Airspace System
National Airspace System
The National Airspace System of the United States is one of the most complex aviation systems in the world — consisting of thousands of people, procedures, facilities, and pieces of equipment — that enables safe and expeditious air travel in the United States and over large portions of the world's...
, 14 December 1988, states that the FAA "determines the standard for NAS equipment and ATC facilities" and that the "DoD will equip facilities providing services to civil users so that the ATC service is transparent to the user."
Codification and repeal
In 1994 Congress recodified existing aviation legislation and the 1958 Aviation Act was repealed.See also
- Federal Aviation RegulationsFederal Aviation RegulationsThe Federal Aviation Regulations, or FARs, are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs are part of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations...
- United States government role in civil aviationUnited States government role in civil aviationGovernments have played an important part in shaping air transportation. This role began as early as 1783, when the king of France summoned the Montgolfier brothers to demonstrate their balloon. In 1892, the French War Ministry backed an attempt to build a heavier-than-air flying machine...