Tag:Transportation
The 1500 Hours Rule Grounds the US Airline Industry
The 1500 Hours Rule requires first officers to have at least 1500 hours of total flight time for licensure to fly commercial aircraft. The 2010 regulation boosted the flight time requirement for first officers from 250 to 1500 hours. Due to the heightened experience requirements, regional airlines have grounded flights and reduced their services, as they have not had sufficient qualified pilots to sustain the flights.
Volkswagen Compliance Chief Steps Down
Mac Matarieh Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2018 Volkswagen installed emission software that allowed more than a half-million diesel cars in the United States to cheat the emissions test set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Volkswagen has since recalled millions of vehicles and has reached a nearly $15 billion …
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The Mail’s Here!: The Unexpected Complexities of Shipping Hazardous Materials
In this day and age, virtually anything can be shipped anywhere. No matter the destination, an item arrives at our door with only a few clicks. Rarely do we stop to think about how it gets to our door. We often overlook the regulations surrounding each package on its journey. The shipping of simple, everyday items, is fairly straight-forward and regulations more relaxed. However, the shipment of complex items, like hazardous materials, carries additional challenges.
Unsafe Landing Practices at Detroit Metro Airport
A whistleblower recently called attention to unsafe landing practices at the Detroit Metro Airport. The whistleblower, a veteran air traffic controller, has helped uncover dangerous flaws in the airport’s instrument landing system (ILS). This system emits radio waves that help guide approaching aircraft to the center of the runway. Air traffic control recordings attest to the danger, as many pilots have voiced complaints about the flawed system upon landing. Nevertheless, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has failed to take immediate corrective actions. The U.S. Special Counsel recently notified the President about this lapse in safety, but it remains to be determined whether officials at the Detroit Metro Airport have repaired or replaced the faulty system.
The Road to Regulation
The implications arising from fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) in the early 2010s spelled out a cautionary tale for automotive manufacturers wondering how to comply with increasingly strict regulations.
Regulatory Shortcuts Taken in Creation of 737 Max Jets
Boeing’s fleet of 737 Max jets remain grounded in the wake of two crashes that occurred shortly after takeoff and within five months of each other. Both crashes killed all passengers on board, a total of 346 people, and the jets’ black box data recorders have revealed many similarities between the two incidents. Both jets were equipped with Boeing’s newly implemented stall-prevention software called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). The system automatically adjusts the pitch of the aircraft, but it malfunctioned in both crashes when MCAS seized control from the pilots and plunged the jets into the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not yet announced when these jets will be allowed to fly again, although test flights have recently been conducted.
International Concerns Regarding Southeast Asian Aviation
Aviation accidents, though rare, occur all over the world. However, the relatively high frequency of airplane disappearances and fatal incidents in Southeast Asia has been a primary cause of concern within the industry. Most recently, on October 29, 2018, a Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Indonesian airline Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea off the coast of Jakarta. Just thirteen minutes into a scheduled hour-long flight, all 189 passengers and crewmembers aboard the aircraft lost their lives. Almost immediately,speculation arose regarding the cause of the accident as well as questions regarding the common occurrence of Indonesian aviation disasters.
“Grounding”: Federal Regulation in the Context of Aircraft Suspensions
On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 en route to Nairobi, Kenya crashed shortly after take-off leaving no survivors. It became the carrier’s most deadly crash and its first fatal crash since January 2010. Most notably, however, it was the second fatal crash involving Boeing’s new 737 MAX jet in less than five months after the Lion Air Flight 610 accident in October 2018. The day following the tragedy, Ethiopian Airlines grounded all of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet until further notice. Many other airlines suspended operations of the aircraft as well and countless countries banned the 737 MAX from airspace.