Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

Contributor

Mark Huber

FAA division manager Wayne Fry said the agency’s flight standards district offices (FSDOs) remain open&nbsp;despite the Covid-19 pandemic&nbsp;but that more activities are being conducted virtually. During the opening day of the FAA’s rotorcraft safety virtual conference this week,&nbsp;Fry divulged the massive extent to which the agency is using online tools to keep up with the demand for inspections and meetings at the FSDO level. He urged attendees to leverage electronic tools to interact with the FAA and to avoid “letting this national emergency impact our safety profile.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 


Fry said the agency engages in more than 5,000 web-based Zoom meetings daily and has done more than 148 international videoconferences&nbsp;across 30 countries since the pandemic began. “The FAA is open for business,” he said. “Our offices may not look open. Most of our staff inspectors and managers support telework from home. We’re doing this to keep our people safe just like you do. If you drop by the local FSDO, there may not be anyone there, but you will see a sign on the door telling you how to get in touch with us. We still stop in occasionally and we will support you if we need to meet in person, but the best way to contact us now really is probably through phone or email.”&nbsp;

 


Doing more business virtually has made the FAA realize that “open and consistent communication is more important than ever, so to stay connected we need to talk more,” Fry said, adding that operators, maintenance providers, and schools could help the FAA during the pandemic by “giving us digital copies of most work.” He said organizations could digitally connect with FAA personnel using technology no more complicated than Apple FaceTime or iPads, iPhones, and laptops to verify aircraft condition, equipage, and installations, provided it is done with the consent of all parties involved.

 


“We won't ever do this type of work without both of us agreeing to it,” Fry said. “We won’t ever do it without your approval or consent. If it’s not working, we will stop. We will both agree on how to do it and what happens, so that’s a very safe space. But just think of the possibilities.”&nbsp;Going virtual does not preclude physical site visits and face-to-face appointments at the local FSDO, but Fry conceded that arranging those meetings might take a little more time during the pandemic.&nbsp;

 


“This is pretty new to us, and probably to you also, and we are still figuring it out,” Fry conceded. “We're doing some experimentation. We're not only trying to figure out how to best work in this [Covid-19]&nbsp;environment, but also how to continue to support the general aviation community.”

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

FAA FSDOs Move into Virtual Plane

The FAA is conducting more business virtually in Covid-19 era: 5,000 Zoom meetings a day. 

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

Kaleyesus Bekele

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Industry group presses for regulatory progress and continuity across the continent 

African Bizav Strives for Greater Market Opportunity

Amy Wilder

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Rule would not apply to insulin-treated diabetes

FAA Proposes Easing Medical Approvals for Diabetic Pilots

Kerry Lynch

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

More In Regulations and Government

African Bizav Strives for Greater Market Opportunity

Industry group presses for regulatory progress and continuity across the continent

FAA Proposes Easing Medical Approvals for Diabetic Pilots

Rule would not apply to insulin-treated diabetes

Congress OKs Stopgap Government Funding Measure

Move averts potential shutdown

Longtime Bizav Attorney Gary Garofalo Flies West

His career spanned more than five and a half decades

New Treasury Rule Limits LLC Information Reporting

The revision relaxes some provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act

Nancy Kassebaum, Architect of GA Product Liability Reform, Dies

Kassebaum pushed through the General Aviation Revitalization Act

Nav Canada Increases ATC Service Charges

Increased fees are to recover pandemic shortfall

FAA InFO Outlines CVR Upgrade Deadlines

Larger new bizav aircraft face 2027 deadline, while small new turbine bizav aircraft have 2029 deadline

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN