Origins of the FAA

 

In May of 1926, Congress passed the Air Commerce Act that granted the newly founded Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce the responsibility to establish airways, improve and install navigational aids, and most importantly establish and enforce safety protocol for all air traffic. The act also established the requirement for aircraft to be inspected for airworthiness, identification numbers painted on the outside of the aircraft, and Airmen to be tested in aeronautical knowledge and be physically fit to perform aeronautical duties(FAA, n.d.). This is the infant stage of what will eventually become the Federal Aviation Administration. In the 1920s, most air traffic was contracted air mail carriers flying visually with little guidance or navigational aids, and all navigational aids were maintained by the state or company that owned the airfields and did not follow any standards. The common navigational aid at the time was large concrete arrows on the ground pointing them to the next airfield (Air Commerce Act, n.d.). The Air Commerce Act placed the Federal government in charge and they began establishing the never completed Transcontinental Airway. That project was a lighted path from New York City to San Francisco with stops in major cities to deliver mail and refuel. The Department of Commerce developed 95 emergency airfields along this route and built 17 radio stations to provide pilots current weather conditions (Air Commerce Act, n.d.)

The success of the Air Commerce Act as well as the Aeronautical Branch of the Department of Commerce resulted in $11.6 million dollars in air mail subsidies and the formation of many pilot groups and companies such as the National Air Pilots Association and Boeing. These were the beginning stages of the airline industry we see today (Air Commerce Act, n.d.).

References

A brief history of the FAA. A Brief History of the FAA | Federal Aviation Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://www.faa.gov/about/history/brief_history

The Air Commerce Act of 1926 . Air Commerce Act of 1926. (n.d.). Retrieved August 10, 2022, from http://avstop.com/history/needregulations/act1926.htm