Aviation Law In National Law

Aviation Law in National Law

Aviation Law in National Law

All countries have aviation legislation designed to conform to the international rules. In the United States, domestic law is embodied in the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 and the resulting federal aviation regulations. The Department of Transportation assumed some of the duties of the CAB, and that agency was disbanded by 1985. States have their own local rules on intrastate air traffic.

Aircraft noise was the subject of a law enacted by the federal government in 1968, giving the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration the authority to set noise limitations for new aircraft and to order equipment that would reduce noise of existing aircraft. Thus, supersonic aircraft (SSTs) were required to fly over U.S. territory at subsonic speeds in the 1970s.

Aviation security came under greater legal scrutiny following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States in which hijackers crashed two commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center in New York City and another into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. The United States Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act in November 2001 in response to the attacks, which exposed a number of weaknesses in airport and airline security. The new law expanded the number of baggage screeners, imposed standards for their training, and made them federal employees for an interim period of time. Beginning in January 2002 it required that all passenger luggage, including checked luggage, be screened. The law also stipulated that all luggage be put through special explosives-detecting devices by the end of 2002. In addition, the law increased the number of armed federal air marshals flying on domestic flights and required international airlines to turn over advance copies of passenger lists to U.S. Customs officials for the purpose of performing background checks to screen out suspected terrorists.

The new law required flight instructors to report the names of any foreign nationals seeking training on aircraft weighing more than 5,600 kg (12,500 lb)-at least the size of a business-class jet. A number of hijackers, who were all foreign nationals, had attended flight training schools in Florida. Flight instructors were required to report the names to the U.S. attorney general’s office for screening, and the attorney general’s office was mandated to review the background of any foreign national seeking to sell, lease, or charter a plane weighing more than 5,600 kg. (1)

Aviation Law in this Section

  • Aviation Law Main Entry
  • Aviation Law in International Law
  • Aviation Law in National Law
  • Aviation Law in Space Law
  • Resources

    Notes and References

    1. Encarta Online Encyclopedia

    See Also


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