FAA HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1965

FAA HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1965

1941

Jan 1941: CAA established a Standardization Center at Houston, Tex., to promote uniformity in the agency's inspection and instruction methods and in examinations for all types of pilot certificates.

May 1, 1941: Incorporating wartime radio advances in 1944, CAA began testing an improved, static-free, very high frequency omnidirectional radio range (VOR) at its Experimental Station in Indianapolis

Aug 1, 1941: CAA added a new region, the Eighth to its organizational structure. The region covered the territory of Alaska, with headquarters at Anchorage. Prior to this time, direction for aeronautical activities in Alaska had been provided partly by the Seventh Regional Office in Seattle, and partly by CAA's Bureau of Federal Airways in Washington, D.C

Nov 1, 1941: CAA began operating airport traffic control towers. (Prior to this time, towers were operated by local airport authorities

Dec 1, 1941: President Roosevelt ordered the creation of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) as a division of the Office of Civilian Defense.

Dec 1, 1941: Beginning on this date, all U.S. pilots and aircraft using the nation’s airspace were required to be Federally certificated. (Up to this time, lack of pertinent legislation in certain states had allowed uncertificated U.S. pilots and aircraft to operate so long as they stayed within state borders and did not enter a Federal civil airway.)

Dec 7, 1941: The Japanese attacked Hawaii and the Philippines. The following day the U.S. Congress declared a state of war with Japan. On Dec 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States

Calendar Year, 1941: Oscar Holmes, the first known African American to become a Federal air traffic controller, joined CAA.

1942

Jan 6, 1942: Pan American Airways Pacific Clipper landed at New York, the first commercial airplane to circle the globe, exclusive of the continental United States. The aircraft had left San Francisco on Dec 2, 1941, and was operating in the South Pacific when the Pearl Harbor attack forced it to return to home territory by flying west.

Feb 14, 1942: The Douglas DC-4 Skymaster made its initial flight, thereafter becoming prominent in a generation of four-engine U.S. transports that advanced long-haul air travel. The plane was a scaled-down version of a prototype developed in 1939. The DC-4 carried a crew of six and up to forty-two passengers. Unlike the Boeing 307 and 307B, it did not have a pressurized cabin. The DC-4 entered military transport service with the military designation of C-54.

Apr 29, 1942: Reflecting wartime requirements, an amendment to the Civil Aeronautics Act increased the maximum permissible monthly number of flying hours of airline pilots to 100. The former monthly limit for had been 85 hours (see Jun 12, 1934). This lower maximum was later reinstated by congressional action on Jul 25, 1947.

Jul 20, 1942: Charles I. Stanton was sworn in as Administrator of Civil Aeronautics.

Sep 14, 1942: To meet the increased tempo of military requirements, CAA established a Pacific Islands Office at Honolulu under the general supervision of the Sixth Region, headquartered at Los Angeles

Oct 22, 1942: Westinghouse Electric began development of two 19A axial-flow turbojet powerplants, the first practical jet engine wholly American in design

1943

Jan 9, 1943: The Lockheed C-69 first flew. After the war, this four-engine, military transport was converted into a successful commercial airliner, the L-049 Constellation. In Dec 1945, CAA type-certificated the Constellation, which entered commercial passenger service on Jan 14, 1946, with Pan American. Model L-649, the first version manufactured entirely for civil use, carried 60 passengers and had a range of over 3,000 miles with 8 tons of payload. On Nov 26, 1968, a Western Air Lines "Connie" completed the type's last scheduled airline flight in North America.

Jan 11, 1943: Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to fly while holding office when he took off from Miami, Fla., aboard Pan American's Dixie Clipper. On Jan 14, Roosevelt arrived in French Morocco to attend the Casablanca Conference.

1944

Jan 15, 1944: CAA commissioned the Honolulu air route traffic control center on this date, followed by the Miami center on Aug 16.

Aug 21, 1944: CAA established a Ninth Region with headquarters at Honolulu. The new office had jurisdiction over the territory of Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean area not within the boundaries of the Eighth Regional Office in Alaska

Sep 10, 1944: The first airplane designed in World War II exclusively to carry cargo, the C-82, was successfully test-flown at the Fairchild aircraft plant in Hagerstown, Md.

Sep 23, 1944: Theodore P. Wright was sworn in as Administrator of Civil Aeronautics.

Nov 1-Dec 7, 1944: The International Civil Aviation Conference met in Chicago, attended by representatives of 52 countries. The conference agreed upon the Convention on International Civil Aviation, known as the Chicago Convention.

1945

Apr 12, 1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly at Warm Springs, Ga. Vice President Harry S Truman took the oath as President.

Apr 19, 1945: Forty-one airlines from twenty-five nations created a voluntary organization, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), at Havana, Cuba, to prevent airlines from practicing unethical methods of setting rates and schedules.

May 8, 1945: President Truman proclaimed the end of the war in Europe

Jun 1, 1945: Ending a monopoly by Pan American Airways, CAB granted three U.S. airlines the authority to serve North Atlantic routes to Europe. The three were Pan American, Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA), and American Export Airlines. On the same day, CAB approved American Airlines' acquisition of the control of American Export

Jun 6, 1945: Representatives from 26 countries created the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO).

Jul 1, 1945: CAA reduced the minimum age requirement for a private pilot license from 18 to 17 years.

Jul 10, 1945: The Civil Aeronautics Board adopted a rule requiring a flight engineer on certain international flights.

Jul 28, 1945: Flying in fog over New York City, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bomber crashed into the Empire State Building, causing the deaths all three persons on the plane and eleven in the building.

Aug 6, 1945: The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, followed by a second on Nagasaki on Aug 9.

Oct 24, 1945: A DC-4 operated by American Export Airlines landed at Hurn Airfield, England, after a flight from New York, inaugurating the first scheduled landplane commercial service between North America and Europe.

1946

Feb 15, 1946: The Lockheed L-049 Constellation went into U.S. domestic passenger service. Designed for a three-man crew, the Constellation had a separate panel and side-facing seat for a flight engineer

Mar 15, 1946: CAA announced the selection of Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, Okla., for the location of its new aeronautical center for training and maintenance.

May 8, 1946: The Bell Aircraft Corporation's Model 47 became the first helicopter to receive a CAA airworthiness type certificate, authorizing mass production.

Jun 29, 1946: The Douglas DC-6 made its first flight, and CAA certificated the plane nine months later. The DC-6 entered U.S. domestic passenger service on Apr 27, 1947. The aircraft, the first Douglas plane with a pressurized cabin, could seat approximately 50 passengers

Aug 2, 1946: An act of Congress established the National Air Museum under the Smithsonian Institution. In 1976, the name changed to National Air and Space Museum.

Nov 23, 1946 The Martin 202 made its first flight. On Aug 13, 1947, CAA type-certificated the aircraft, a two-engine transport designed for the short-haul passenger market. The airplane entered service a year later with Northwest Airlines. The Martin was the first airliner to operate on postwar passenger routes that had not seen service during World War II.

1947

Feb 21, 1947: The Air Line Pilots Association adopted a resolution providing that all four-engine aircraft be required to carry a flight engineer

Apr 4, 1947: CAB certificated Piedmont Airlines as a local service carrier. The airline, whose original routes ran along the Piedmont-Appalachia area, began operations on Feb 20, 1948. Piedmont expanded steadily during the succeeding decades, then grew rapidly after airline deregulation was introduced in the late 1970s.

Apr 8, 1947: American Overseas Airlines obtained rights for commercial service to Finland, the first U.S. route to the Soviet sphere in Europe.

Jun 17, 1947: Pan American Airways inaugurated round-the-world scheduled passenger service, exclusive of the continental United States, as a Lockheed Constellation took off from New York and flew eastward on a route that led to San Francisco. The gap in the circle between San Francisco and New York could not be closed because of a provision in Pan Am's certificate excluding domestic service.

Jul 8, 1947: The prototype Boeing 377 Stratocruiser first flew. The 377, an outgrowth of the military B-29 Superfortress and the C-97 military transport, received its CAA type-certificate on Sep 3, 1948, and first saw service with Pan American World Airways on Apr 1, 1949. The plane had a spiral staircase leading down to a first class lounge in the lower fuselage. It could carry approximately 100 passengers or could be converted into a sleeper plane with 28 full-sized Pullman berths.

Oct 1, 1947 Los Angeles Airways began the world’s first regularly scheduled mail service by helicopter (as distinct from autogiro service: see Jul 6, 1939). The carrier operated Sikorsky S-51s within a radius of roughly 50 miles of Los Angeles International Airport

Oct 11, 1947: Trans-Texas Airways began operations as a local service carrier. The airline at first served routes within Texas, reached outside the state in 1953, and acquired routes to Mexico in 1966. It adopted the name Texas International Airlines following a change of ownership in 1968.

Dec 17, 1947: A prototype of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet made its maiden flight. Designed for the War Department as a bomber, the aircraft had thin swept wings and six externally mounted jet engines. The B-47A entered service with the Air Force in May 1951. The Air Force retired the last B-47 operated as a bomber on Feb 11, 1966, but B-47s continued in service as weather reconnaissance and research aircraft.

1948

Jan 30, 1948: Orville Wright died at age 76. His brother Wilbur had died of typhoid 36 years earlier, at age 45.

Jun 1, 1948: Delos W. Rentzel became CAA Administrator.

Jun 24, 1948: The Soviet Union stopped rail and road traffic between Berlin and the West. The Western Powers began airlifting vital supplies to the beleaguered city. The following month, at the request of the Air Force, CAA dispatched an initial group of 20 volunteer air traffic controllers to Frankfurt and Berlin for duty in the airlift operation. CAA also provided VHF air navigation aids. The Berlin blockade was officially lifted on May 12, 1949

Jun 30, 1948: The Bell Telephone Laboratories made the first public demonstration of the point contact transistor, developed by two Bell scientists, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain.

Nov 22, 1948: The Wright brothers' Kitty Hawk airplane, the Flyer I, arrived at the Smithsonian Institution after 20 years in the South Kensington Museum, London.

Nov 30, 1948: The Curtiss-Wright Corporation demonstrated its new reversible-pitch propellers, which permitted a DC-4 transport to make a controlled descent from 15,000 to 1,000 feet in 1 minute 22 seconds

Calendar year, 1948: CAA type-certificated the Allison model 400-C-4 jet engine this year, the first jet engine to receive CAA approval for commercial transport operations.

1949

Jan 11, 1949: The Civil Aeronautics Board granted a certificate of convenience and necessity as a local service carrier to All American Airways, which had been founded in 1937 as All American Aviation. Beginning operations under its new certificate on Mar 7, All American served the northeastern United States. On Jan 1, 1953, the carrier changed its name to Allegheny Airlines. It subsequently absorbed Lake Central Airlines on Jul 1, 1968, and Mohawk Airlines on Apr 12, 1972.

Feb 26-Mar 2, 1949: The Lucky Lady II, a USAF Boeing B-50 commanded by Capt. James Gallagher, made the first nonstop round-the-world flight, covering 23,452 miles in 94 hours l minute. The aircraft, which took off from and returned to Carswell Air Force Base, in Fort Worth, Tex., was refueled in flight four times

Sep 23, 1949: President Truman announced that within recent weeks the Soviet Union had succeeded in exploding a nuclear device.

1950

Jan 3, 1950: Pan American Airways changed its name to Pan American World Airways. Nine days later, on Jan 12, the company completed its round-the-world radio-telephone communications system, which the Civil Aeronautics Administration had approved for air-ground operations. This long-term project for conversion from code to voice involved 19,687 miles of voice radio link and 32 high-frequency ground stations.

Jun 25, 1950: North Korean forces launched an invasion of South Korea. Two days later, President Truman announced that he had ordered the U.S. Air Force to assist South Korea, beginning U.S. involvement in the war.

Oct 4, 1950: Donald W. Nyrop became Administrator of Civil Aeronautics.

1951

Mar 1951: Pratt & Whitney began flight tests of its new 10,000-pound thrust J57 jet engine, which eventually powered the B-52, YB-60, F-l00, F-l0l, YF-l05A, KC-135, Boeing 707, F4D, and A3D, as well as the Snark missile

May 18, 1951: Charles F. Horne became Administrator of Civil Aeronautics.

1952

Jan 5, 1952: Using Douglas DC-6As, Pan American World Airways inaugurated the first all-cargo air service across the North Atlantic.

May 2, 1952: The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) inaugurated the first scheduled air service with turbojet airliners, de Havilland Comet I's, operating between London and Johannesburg

Nov 1, 1952: The U.S. exploded the first hydrogen bomb on Eniwetok Island. On Aug 20, 1953, the U.S.S.R. announced it had tested an H-bomb "within the last few days."

1953

Jan 20, 1953: Dwight D. Eisenhower became President, succeeding Harry S Truman.

Apr 18, 1953: The first turboprop airliner, the Vickers V-701 Viscount, entered scheduled passenger service with British European Airways. On Jul 26, 1955, Capital Airlines introduced the British-made plane on its Washington-Chicago route. The Viscount was the first turboprop-powered aircraft to be used in U.S. scheduled service

Apr 27, 1953: Frederick B. Lee was sworn in as CAA Administrator.

1954

Aug 17, 1954: Administrator Frederick B. Lee placed in effect a reorganization of CAA He established a position of Assistant Administrator for Operations in the Office of the Administrator to exercise direct supervision over the Office of Airports, Office of Federal Airways, Office of Aviation Safety, and the Washington National Airport.

1955

Oct 13, 1955: The aviation industry learned that Pan American World Airways had placed the first order for jet airliners to be produced in the United States, ordering both the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8

Oct 30, 1955: The first commercial flights began at the new O’Hare Field, Chicago International Airport, which had been under construction since 1949. The facility was named for Lt. Commander Edward H. O’Hare, who won the Medal of Honor as a naval aviator in World War II

Nov 1, 1955: A bomb destroyed a United Air Lines Douglas DC-6B airliner after it took off from Denver, Colo., killing all 44 people on board. The Federal Bureau of Investigation later arrested J. G. Graham, who had taken out a large life insurance policy on his mother, a passenger on the ill-fated aircraft. Graham was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death.

Dec 8, 1955: CAA Administrator Frederick Lee resigned after months of widening personal and policy differences with the Secretary and Under Secretary of Commerce The President accepted his resignation two days later. On Dec 12, 1955, Charles J. Lowen took the oath as Lee's successor. With Congress not in session, President Eisenhower had given Lowen an interim appointment on Dec 9.

Dec 20, 1955: The Douglas DC-7C first flew. On May 15, 1956, CAA type-certificated the four engine, propeller-driven aircraft. Dubbed the "Seven Seas," the transport was able to fly nonstop between the United States and many European cities and had a maximum capacity of 99 passengers. The plane entered scheduled airline service with Pan American World Airways on Jun 1, 1956.

1956

May 27, 1956: The Sud-Aviation SE 210 Caravelle made its first flight. The first short-haul jet plane to go into general use, the Caravelle's rear-mounted engine configuration set a design trend for jet transports

Jun 30, 1956: A Trans World Airlines Super Constellation and a United Air Lines DC-7 collided over the Grand Canyon, Ariz., killing all 128 occupants of the two airplanes. The collision occurred while the transports were flying under visual flight rules (VFR) in uncongested airspace.

Oct 6, 1956: Upgrading its fleet of flight inspection aircraft, CAA announced that it would obtain five Convair 440s, with delivery in Dec 1957 and Jan 1958. To calibrate and evaluate the performance of airway navigation aids, the agency had previously used DC-3s and Beech 18s, which had an operating ceiling of only 12,000 feet. The pressurized Convairs (later re-engined to the Convair 580 configuration) permitted testing in altitudes up to 20,000 feet

Calendar Year, 1956 The Cessna Aircraft Company introduced its Model 172, a four-seat general aviation aircraft. During the next 30 years, sales of all versions of the 172s built in the United States totaled an estimated 37,000.

1957

Feb 11, 1957: The Senate confirmed James T. Pyle as Administrator of Civil Aeronautics.

Jul 17, 1957: President Eisenhower appointed Elwood R. Quesada as his Special Assistant for aviation matters and charged him with "taking the leadership in securing the implementation of the Curtis plan of action."

Jul 25, 1957: Dynamite exploded in the lavatory of a Western Airlines Convair 240 flying at 7,500 feet over California, blowing the person who had detonated the charge through the side of the aircraft. The plane landed successfully without further casualties.

Oct 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first manmade earth satellite, into orbit.

Dec 6, 1957: The Lockheed 188A Electra first flew. The transport, a four-engine turboprop airliner of short-to-medium range with a maximum capacity of 99 passengers, received its type certificate on Aug 22, 1958, and entered scheduled airline service with Eastern Air Lines on Jan 12, 1959.

Dec 20, 1957: The first U.S.-made turbojet airliner, the Boeing 707, first flew. (Boeing's 367-80, the prototype for both the 707 and the military KC-135 Stratotanker, had first flown on Jul 15, 1954.) CAA certificated the aircraft, a four-engine, long-range plane with a maximum capacity of 189 passengers on Sep 23, 1958. The 707 entered scheduled airline service, on Oct 26, 1958, with Pan American World Airways. On Aug 30, 1991, Boeing announced an end to production of the 707. The company built 857 of the 707s, selling the last as a radar surveillance plane earlier in 1991.

1958

Jan 31, 1958: The United States successfully launched Explorer I, the first U.S. earth satellite.

May 21, 1958: Senator A. S. Mike Monroney (D-Okla.) introduced S. 3880, a bill "to create an independent Federal Aviation Agency,

May 30, 1958: The Douglas DC-8 first flew. On Aug 31, 1959, FAA type-certificated this four-engine long-range jet airliner with a maximum capacity for 189 passengers. The plane entered scheduled airline service with Delta on Sep 18, 1959

Aug 23, 1958: President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (P.L. 85-726) into law. Treating comprehensively the Federal role in fostering and regulating civil aeronautics and air commerce, the new statute repealed the Air Commerce Act of 1926, the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, the Airways Modernization Act of 1957, and those portions of the various Presidential reorganization plans dealing with civil aviation. The act assigned the functions exercised under these repealed laws, which had been dispersed within the Federal structure, to two independent agencies--the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA), which was created by the act, and the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which was freed of its administrative ties with the Department of Commerce.

Nov 1, 1958: Elwood R. Quesada became the first Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency.

1959

Jan 3, 1959: Alaska entered the Union as the 49th State.

Jan 25, 1959: Transcontinental jet airliner service began as American Airlines inaugurated Boeing 707 flights between New York and Los Angeles. The new service also made American the first U.S. airline to begin domestic scheduled jet flights using its own aircraft

Jan 27, 1959: The Convair 880 (Model 22) first flew. On May 1, 1960, FAA certificated this four-engine medium-range jet airliner with a maximum capacity of 110 passengers. The plane, built by General Dynamics Corporation, entered scheduled service on May 15, 1960, with Delta Air Lines.

Feb 3, 1959 A Pan Am 707 entered a steep dive toward the Atlantic after its autopilot disengaged at 35,000 feet. The captain, who had been in the passenger cabin when the dive began, fought powerful gravity forces to return to the cockpit. Taking command from the copilot, he was able to end the dive at 6,000 feet. Prompted by this near-disaster, FAA in April began rigorously enforcing an often-disregarded rule requiring all flight-crew members to remain at their stations "except when the absence of one is necessary in connection with his regular duties."

Aug 21, 1959: Hawaii entered the Union as the 50th State

Nov 23, 1959: The Boeing 720 first flew. On Jun 30, 1960, FAA certificated the 720, a four-engine medium-range jet transport with a maximum capacity of 140 passengers. The plane entered scheduled service with United Airlines on Jul 5, 1960.

1960

Jan 1, 1960: A major realignment of responsibilities for Federal Aviation Agency field operations became effective. Under the new centralized concept of operations, the Washington Bureaus of Air Traffic, Facilities and Materiel, and Flight Standards, as well as the Office of the Civil Air Surgeon, received authority to exercise direct supervision over all program activities in the field except in Alaska, Hawaii, and at the Aeronautical Center and National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center. FAA abolished the position of Regional Administrator and created, in its place, the post of Regional Manager to carry out the administrative and support functions required by the program divisions in the field. In March, FAA prescribed a standard organization for the regional headquarters under the new system. At the same time the agency gave managers in Region 1 through 4 authority to foster coordination and exchange of information among all field divisions.

Mar 15, 1960: FAA’s "age-60 rule" went into effect, barring individuals who reached their 60th birthday from serving as a pilot on aircraft engaged in certificated route air carrier operations or on large aircraft engaged in supplemental air carrier operations. The rule did not apply to commuter or on-demand air taxi operations, which employed smaller aircraft. In adopting the rule, FAA declared that a progressive deterioration of certain physiological functions normally occurs with age and that sudden incapacity due to certain medical defects such as heart attack and strokes becomes significantly more frequent in any group reaching age 60. The agency therefore imposed the age-60 rule until science provided better tests to determine individual pilots' susceptibility to these problems

Jun 7, 1960: A wildcat strike broke out at Eastern Air Lines when an FAA safety inspector boarded an Eastern DC-8 flight and took the forward observer's seat from the third pilot. The Air Line Pilots Association had previously protested this practice as a threat to safety. FAA, however, maintained that the Douglas DC-8 and Boeing 707 had been certificated for air carrier operations with a crew of two pilots and a flight engineer and that the third pilot was superfluous. The agency immediately promulgated a regulation requiring the third pilot to give up the forward observer's seat to an FAA inspector. Meanwhile, the strike spread to Pan American but ended on Jun 21 following an injunction.

1961

Jan 20, 1961: John F. Kennedy became President, succeeding Dwight D. Eisenhower. The resignation of FAA Administrator Elwood R. Quesada became effective, and Deputy Administrator James T. Pyle became Acting Administrator.

Jan 24, 1961: The Convair 990 (model 30) first flew. On Dec 15, FAA certificated the four-engine jet airliner of medium-to-long range with a maximum capacity of 121 passengers. The plane, built by General Dynamics Corporation, entered scheduled service on Mar 9, 1963, with Swissair.

Mar 3, 1961: Najeeb E. Halaby became the second FAA Administrator

Apr 12, 1961: Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space when he rode the Vostok I for a single orbit of earth before landing safely. Astronaut Alan B. Shepard became the first American in space with a May 5 suborbital flight. The following year, John H. Glenn, Jr., piloted the first U.S. manned orbital flight on Feb 20, 1962.

Jun 1, 1961: United Air Lines absorbed Capital Airlines in the biggest U.S. domestic airline merger up to that time.

Aug 10, 1961: For the first time the Federal government employed armed guards on civilian planes The first such guards were border patrolmen from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. In Mar 1962, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy swore in FAA's first "peace officers," as Special U.S. Deputy Marshals. Graduates of a special training course at the U.S. Border Patrol Academy, all of the men worked as safety inspectors for Flight Standards and only carried out their role as armed marshals on flights when specifically requested to do so by airline management or the FBI.

Aug 28, 1961: FAA issued type and production certificates for the Lockheed Model 1329 JetStar, powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT12A-6 engines. The JetStar was the first four-engine turbojet executive-type transport designed and developed in the United States to be certificated

1962

Jan 17, 1962: President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10988, which guaranteed the right of Federal employees to join organizations

Mar 23, 1962: FAA type-certificated North American Aviation's Sabreliner (Model 265), an executive type jet aircraft. It thus became the first executive-type aircraft with twin turbojet engines to be designed, developed, and certificated in the United States.

May 22, 1962: An explosion blew the tail off a Continental Air Lines 707 flying over southern Iowa, killing all 45 persons aboard. Officials later cited the probable cause as a dynamite detonation in a rear lavatory. On Jun 5, a government/industry steering committee headed by FAA Administrator Halaby convened to review efforts to combat the aircraft bombing hazard

May 16, 1962: FAA formally established a new Office of Policy Development with the mission of developing broad policy and objectives and the plans required to carry them out. On the same day, FAA created an Office of Compliance and Security in an action that consolidated these two functions organizationally. Previously, compliance matters had been handled by a staff assistant to the Deputy Administrator (later Associate Administrator) for Administration, and security matters were the concern of a division in the Office of Personnel and Training. The new office had the mission of assuring the highest possible standards of ethical, trustworthy, and nondiscriminatory conduct among employees, the physical security of information and property, and the conduct of investigations to meet the agency's needs.

Jun 29, 1962: The British Aircraft Corporation's VC-10 first flew. On Apr 29, 1964, this long-range jet airliner with four engines in lateral pairs on each side of the rear fuselage entered scheduled service with a BOAC flight from London to Lagos, Nigeria

Aug 31, 1962: FAA Administrator Halaby created the Office of Assistant Administrator for General Aviation Affairs to supersede the function of Special Assistant for General Aviation

.1963

Feb 9, 1963: The Boeing 727 first flew. On Dec 24, 1963, FAA certificate the 727, a three engine jet airliner of short/medium range with a basic capacity of 94 and a maximum capacity of 119 passengers. The plane entered scheduled airline service with Eastern Air Lines on Feb 1, 1964, and achieved worldwide popularity. By 1988, U.S. air carriers alone were operating 1,246 of the 727s.

Apr 26, 1963: A split occurred within the Air Line Pilots Association, resulting in the formation of a separate union, the Allied Pilots Association, that gained the right to represent the pilots of American Airlines.Jun 5, 1963: Administrator Halaby announced the establishment of an aviation mechanic safety awards program,Aug 20, 1963: The BAC 1-11 first flew. The plane received a British type certificate on Apr 6, 1965. On Apr 15, 1965, FAA typed certificated the twin-engine, short-rangejetliner with a maximum passenger capacity of 79, the first airliner since the1940s to be certificated for operation with a two-man cockpit crew. Braniff Airways pressed the aircraft into U.S. domestic service on Apr 25, 1965. Oct 7, 1963: The Learjet 23 made its initial flight. FAA certificated the twin-engine executive aircraft in July of the following year, and the company made its first delivery in October. The success of Model 23 and later Learjets helped to popularize corporate jet transportation.

Nov 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and was succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson

.Nov 22, 1963: FAA's Washington headquarters staff began moving into the newly completed Federal Office Building 10A, at 800 Independence Avenue, SW. Completed in December, the move brought together under one roof personnel formerly housed in several widely dispersed buildings, including some "temporary" buildings of World War II vintage.

1964

Jan 20, 1964: The Beech King Air first flew. The aircraft received type certification

on May 19, becoming the first U.S. light twin-engine turboprop business aircraft to be

type-certificated.

Apr 17, 1964: Geraldine ("Jerrie") Mock completed the first solo flight around the

world by a woman. Mock made the 23,103-mile flight in 29 days 11 hours 59 minutes,

landing at Port Columbus Airport, Ohio. Later, on Apr 10, 1966, she set a world

nonstop distance record for women of 4,550 miles

May 7, 1964: A passenger shot the captain and first officer of a Pacific Air Lines

Fokker F-27 en route from Reno, Nev., to San Francisco, Calif. The aircraft crashed

near San Ramon, Calif., killing all 44 occupants

Aug 6, 1964: An FAA rule effective this date required the closing and locking of crew

compartment doors of scheduled air carriers and other large commercial aircraft in

flight to deter passengers from entering the flight deck either intentionally or

inadvertently

Sep 7, 1964: Effective this date, FAA prescribed more rigorous safety standards for air-taxi operators and commercial operators of small aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less. The new directive was designated Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

Dec 8, 1964: A United Air Lines Caravelle jet made the first computer landing (automatic touchdown) at Dulles International Airport.

1965

Feb 25, 1965: The Douglas DC-9 made its maiden flight. On Nov 23, 1965 FAA type-certificated the aircraft, a twin-engine turbojet transport designed for short- to medium-haul market for operation with a two-man crew. The plane entered service with Delta on Dec 9

Apr 21, 1965: FAA eliminated the rule requiring a three-man crew on all transports with a takeoff weight over 80,000 pounds and substituted a rule that set forth workload criteria as the standard for determining the size of an air transport cockpit crew.

On Nov 23, FAA type-certificated the Douglas DC-9 for operation with a two-man crew Earlier in the year, FAA had certificated the BAC 1-11, a British-made transport, for operations with a two-man crew.

Jul 1, 1965: General William F. McKee (USAF, Ret.) became the third FAA Administrator,

Jul 1, 1965: David D. Thomas became FAA's Deputy Administrator.

Aug 31, 1965: The world's largest cargo plane, the Aero Spacelines B-377SG Super Guppy completed its maiden flight. A converted Boeing 377 Stratocruiser with a capacity of 49,790 cubic feet, the Super Guppy was under contract to NASA for use in hauling rockets and other space equipment

Sep 1, 1965: An inspector or other authorized flight examiner conducting a flight test is an observer, and normally not considered to be the pilot in command, according to a rule effective this date.

Sep 7, 1965: FAA presented its first type certificate for a Japanese-made aircraft to the Nihon Aeroplane Manufacturing Company, Ltd., for its NAMC YS-11, a twin-turboprop short/medium-range transport with a maximum seating capacity of 59 passengers. The YS-11 had first flown in Aug 1962, and had received its Japanese type certificate on Aug 25, 1964

Oct 1, 1965: FAA created the position of Associate Administrator for Personnel and Training. The new associate administrator reported directly to the FAA Administrator; previously, the head of the agency's personnel and training functions reported to theAssociate Administrator for Administration.

Nov 14-17, 1965: In a flight sponsored by Rockwell-Standard, a Boeing B-707 became the first aircraft to girdle the globe going north to south, covering 26,230 miles in 62 hours 28 minutes. Beginning in Honolulu, the flight flew over the North Pole, made stops at London, Lisbon, and Buenos Aires, flew over the South Pole, and returned to Honolulu by way of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Dec 16, 1965: Under a rule effective this date, FAA required pilots flying large aircraft (12,500 pounds or more) to hold a type rating for that aircraft. Calendar year, 1965: Forty-two million people, or 38 percent of the adult population of the United States, had flown in a commercial aircraft, according to a survey made during 1965 by the Gallup Organization for Trans World Airlines. In 1962, a similar TWA-sponsored survey had shown that 33 percent of the adult population had flown in a commercial aircraft