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A Brief History of the Federal Aviation Administration

Origins
The Air Commerce Act of May 20, 1926, was the cornerstone of the Federal government's regulation of civil aviation. This landmark legislation was passed at the urging of the aviation industry, whose leaders believed the airplane could not reach its full commercial potential without Federal action to improve and maintain safety standards. The Act charged the Secretary of Commerce with fostering air commerce, issuing and enforcing air traffic rules, licensing pilots, certificating aircraft, establishing airways, and operating and maintaining aids to air navigation. A new Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce assumed primary responsibility for aviation oversight. The first head of the Branch was William P. MacCracken, Jr., who played a key part in convincing Congress of the need for this new governmental role.

Early Responsibilities
In fulfilling its civil aviation responsibilities, the Department of Commerce initially concentrated on functions such as safety rulemaking and the certification of pilots and aircraft. It took over the building and operation of the nation's system of lighted airways, a task begun by the Post Office Department. The Department of Commerce improved aeronautical radio communications, and introduced radio beacons as an effective aid to air navigation.

In 1934, the Aeronautics Branch was renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce to reflect its enhanced status within the Department. As commercial flying increased, the Bureau encouraged a group of airlines to establish the first three centers for providing air traffic control (ATC) along the airways. In 1936, the Bureau itself took over the centers and began to expand the ATC system. The pioneer air traffic controllers used maps, blackboards, and mental calculations to ensure the safe separation of aircraft traveling along designated routes between cities.

The Civil Aeronautics Act
In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Act transferred the Federal civil aviation responsibilities from the Commerce Department to a new independent agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The legislation also expanded the government's role by giving the Authority the power to regulate airline fares and to determine the routes that air carriers would serve.

In 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt split the Authority into two agencies, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). CAA was responsible for ATC, airman and aircraft certification, safety enforcement, and airway development. CAB was entrusted with safety rulemaking, accident investigation, and economic regulation of the airlines. Both organizations were part of the Department of Commerce. Unlike CAA, however, CAB functioned independently of the Secretary.

On the eve of America's entry into World War II, CAA began to extend its ATC responsibilities to takeoff and landing operations at airports. This expanded role eventually became permanent after the war. The application of radar to ATC helped controllers in their drive to keep abreast of the postwar boom in commercial air transportation. In 1946, Congress gave CAA the added task of administering the Federal-aid airport program, the first peacetime program of financial assistance aimed exclusively at promoting development of the nation's civil airports.

The Birth of FAA
The approaching introduction of jet airliners and a series of midair collisions spurred passage of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. This legislation transferred CAA's functions to a new independent body, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) that had broader authority to combat aviation hazards. The act took safety rulemaking from CAB and entrusted it to the new FAA. It also gave FAA sole responsibility for developing and maintaining a common civil-military system of air navigation and air traffic control, a responsibility CAA previously shared with others.

The scope of the Federal Aviation Act owed much to the leadership of Elwood "Pete" Quesada, an Air Force general who served as President Eisenhower's principle advisor on civil aeronautics. After becoming the first Administrator of the agency he helped to create, Quesada mounted a vigorous campaign for improved airline safety.

From Agency to Administration
In 1966, Congress authorized the creation of a cabinet department that would combine major Federal transportation responsibilities. This new Department of Transportation (DOT) began full operations on April l, 1967. On that day, FAA became one of several modal organizations within DOT and received a new name, Federal Aviation Administration. At the same time, CAB's accident investigation function was transferred to the new National Transportation Safety Board.

Changing Duties
Even before becoming part of DOT, FAA gradually assumed responsibilities not originally contemplated by the Federal Aviation Act. The hijacking epidemic of the 1960s involved the agency in the field of aviation security. In 1968, Congress vested in FAA's Administrator the power to prescribe aircraft noise standards. The Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970 placed the agency in charge of a new airport aid program funded by a special aviation trust fund. The same Act made FAA responsible for safety certification of airports served by air carriers.

ATC Automation
By the mid-1970s, FAA achieved a semi-automated air traffic control system based on a marriage of radar and computer technology. By automating certain routine tasks, the system allowed controllers to concentrate more efficiently on the vital task of providing separation. Data appearing directly on the controllers' scopes provided the identity, altitude, and groundspeed of aircraft carrying radar beacons. Despite its effectiveness, this system required enhancement to keep pace with the increased air traffic of the late 1970s. The increase was due in part to the competitive environment created by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. This law phased out CAB's economic regulation of the airlines, and CAB ceased to exist at the end of 1984.

To meet the challenge of traffic growth, FAA unveiled the National Airspace System (NAS) Plan in January 1982. The new plan called for more advanced systems for en route and terminal ATC, modernized flight service stations, and improvements in ground-to-air surveillance and communication.

The PATCO Strike
While preparing the NAS Plan, FAA faced a strike by key members of its workforce. An earlier period of discord between management and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) culminated in a 1970 "sickout" by 3,000 controllers. Although controllers subsequently gained additional wage and retirement benefits, another period of tension led to an illegal strike in August 1981. The government dismissed over 11,000 strike participants and decertified PATCO. By the spring of 1984, FAA ended the last of the special restrictions imposed to keep the airspace system operating safely during the strike.

Structural Changes
FAA's organizational structure has continued to evolve since its creation. The agency's first Administrator favored a management system under which officials in Washington exercised direct control over programs in the field. In 1961, however, his successor began a decentralization process that transferred much authority to regional organizations. This pattern generally endured until a 1988 "straightlining" again charged managers at national headquarters with more direction of field activities. Another notable change occurred in 1987, when Washington National and Dulles International Airports passed from FAA's management to that of an authority representing multiple jurisdictions. (National was opened by CAA in 1941, Dulles by FAA in 1962.)

In November 1994, a reorganization structured FAA along its six key lines of business in order to make better use of resources. A seventh line of business was added one year later when the Office of Commercial Space Transportation was transferred to FAA from the Office of the Secretary of Transportation. The addition of this office gave the agency regulatory responsibilities concerning the launching of space payloads by the private sector. Reform legislation gave FAA increased flexibility regarding acquisition and personnel polices in 1996. Further legislation in 2000 prompted action to establish a new performance-based organization with responsibility for air traffic services within the agency. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress created a new Transportation Security Administration that succeeded FAA as the agency with primary responsibility for civil aviation security.

Technology for the Future
FAA addressed a wide variety of technical issues as the rapid evolution of aeronautics continued. The Aviation Safety Research Act of 1988 mandated greater emphasis on long-range research planning and on study of such issues as aging aircraft structures and human factors affecting safety. In February 1991, FAA replaced the National Airspace System Plan with the more comprehensive Capital Investment Plan (CIP). The new plan included higher levels of automation as well as new radar, communications, and weather forecasting systems.

As the modernization program evolved, problems in developing ambitious automation systems prompted a change in strategy. FAA shifted its emphasis toward enhancing the air traffic control system through more manageable, step-by-step improvements. At the same time, the agency worked to speed the application of the Global Positioning System satellite technology to civil aeronautics. Other notable programs included Free Flight, an innovative concept aimed at providing greater flexibility to fly direct routes. At the opening of the 21st Century, Free Flight's initial phase was beginning to deliver benefits that added to the efficiency of air transportation.

Bibliography

The following is a list of works that includes information on the history of the Federal Aviation Administration and its predecessor agencies. Posting of this bibliography does not constitute a relationship between FAA and the authors or publishers of those listed works that are not published by the agency.

Bilstein, Roger E., Flight in America, 1900-1983 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984).

Burkhardt, Robert, The Federal Aviation Administration (NY: Frederick A. Praeger, 1967).

Burkhardt, Robert, CAB - The Civil Aeronautics Board (Dulles International Airport, Va: Green Hills Publishing Co., 1974).

Davies, R. E. G., Airlines of the United States Since 1914 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1972).

Gilbert, Glenn A., Air Traffic Control (Chicago: Ziff-Davis, 1945)

Gilbert, Glenn A., Air Traffic Control: The Uncrowded Sky (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973).

Halaby, Najeeb E., Crosswinds: An Airman's Memoir (Garden City: Doubleday, 1978). An autobiography by FAA's second Administrator.

Jackson, William E., ed., The Federal Airway System (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1970).

Kane, Robert M., and Allan D. Vose, Air Transportation (Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 8th ed., 1982).

Kent, Richard J., Safe, Separated, and Soaring: A History of Federal Civil Aviation Policy, 1961-1972. (Washington: DOT/FAA, 1980). See list of FAA historical publications in print for more information.

Komons, A., Bonfires to Beacons: Federal Civil Aviation Policy Under the Air Commerce Act, 1926-1938. (Washington: DOT/FAA, 1978). See list of FAA historical publications in print for more information.

Komons, Nick A. The Cutting Air Crash. (Washington: DOT/FAA, 1984). See list of FAA historical publications in print for more information.

Komons, Nick A. The Third Man: A History of the Airline Crew Complement Controversy, 1947-1981 (Washington: DOT/FAA, 1987). See list of FAA historical publications in print for more information.

Leary, William M., ed., Aviation's Golden Age: Portraits from the 1920s and 1930s (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1989). Includes essays on the first leader of FAA's initial predecessor agency and the Secretary of Commerce under whom he served.

Leary, William M., ed., Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography: The Airline Industry (New York: Bruccoli Clark Layman and Facts on File, 1992). Includes historical articles on FAA and its predecessors, and on related legislation.

Osborn, Michael, and Joseph Riggs, ed.s, "Mr. Mac:" William P. MacCracken, Jr., on Aviation, Law, Optometry, (Memphis: Southern College of Optometry, 1970). The authors used oral history to produce this first-person narrative of the life of the first head of FAA's earliest predecessor agency.

Pisano, Dominick, To Fill the Skies with Pilots: The Civilian Pilot Training Program, 1939-1949 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993). Describes a major program of the Civil Aeronautics Administration.

Preston, Edmund, FAA Historical Chronology: Civil Aviation and the Federal Government, 1926-1996. (Washington: DOT/FAA, 1998). See list of FAA historical publications in print for more information.

Preston, Edmund, Troubled Passage: The Federal Aviation Administration During the Nixon-Ford Term, 1973-1977. (Washington: DOT/FAA, 1987). See list of FAA historical publications in print for more information.

Rochester, Stuart I., Takeoff at Mid-Century: Federal Civil Aviation Policy in the Eisenhower Years, 1953-1961. (Washington: DOT/FAA, 1976). See list of FAA historical publications in print for more information.

Schmeckebier, Laurence F., The Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce: Its History, Activities and Organization (Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1930).

Strickland, Patricia, The Putt-Putt Air Force: The Story of the Civilian Pilot Training Program and The War Training Service, 1939-1944 (DOT/FAA, Aviation Education Staff, 1971). Describes a major program of the Civil Aeronautics Administration.

Thompson, Scott A., Flight Check!: The Story of FAA Flight Inspection (DOT/FAA, Office of Aviation System Standards, 1993).

Whitnah, Donald R. Safer Airways: Federal Control of Aviation, 1926-1966 (Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1966).

Wilson, John R. M., Turbulence Aloft: The Civil Aeronautics Administration Amid Wars and Rumors of Wars, 1938-1953. (Washington: DOT/FAA, 1979). See list of FAA historical publications in print for more information.

Updated: 10:23 am ET March 3, 2005