AINsafety

The FAA plans to decommission the remaining 29 direction finders (DF) in Alaska unless the aviation industry raises specific objections. DF, first used before World War II, performs one simple function: telling its operator which direction a transmitted radio signal is strongest. A skilled DF operator could pinpoint the location of a lost aircraft. DF steers, as they’re called, have saved thousands of lives over the past 80 years. But now, replaced by more accurate technologies such as GPS and ADS-B, DF is seldom used.

Now that the Pilots Bill of Rights is law, the FAA has updated Notice 8900.195 to reflect the requirement to provide certain written notifications to airmen who are the subject of an investigation relating to a certificate suspension, revocation or modification action or the approval or denial of a certificate. The new law also means the FAA must hand over copies of some ATC materials–transcripts, radar data and recordings–to allow these airmen to build a better defense.

With fall approaching in the northern hemisphere, the FAA has issued Notice 8900.196, a revised document offering updates to the agency’s deicing program for the coming winter flying season. The update includes holdover times as well as a list of deicing and anti-icing fluids.

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada has updated its investigation of the May 28 midair collision between a Beechcraft Bonanza and a Piper PA-28 over the Washington, D.C. suburb of Summerduck, Va. The TSB is handling the investigation at the request of NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman to avoid any potential conflicts of interest because the two victims aboard the Bonanza were U.S. government employees.