Greetings! First, Here is an update from Washington, D.C. As Aero-News put it, “Meet the New FAA Boss.” On May 21st, the U.S. Senate confirmed J. Randolph “Randy” Babbitt as the new FAA Administrator. After swearing in, Babbitt will take up his position at 800 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. As a pilot who has been flying since he was 16 years old, former president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and member of the FAA Management Advisory Council, Babbitt brings a wealth of aviation experience as he takes the reins at this pivotal time. During his Senate confirmation, hearing Babbitt said that he will seek input from all aviation stakeholders to address the issues facing the FAA. Among those issues are achieving an agreement with the controllers union and making clear progress on building the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen. At his confirmation hearing, Babbitt said NextGen will allow for approaches by general aviation pilots into many small airports throughout the country.
Secondly, The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issues an urgent safety recommendation to FAA in which it asks the agency to prohibit further flight of a type of small airplane that has been involved in six in-flight structural breakups since 2006.
The recommendations apply to the Zodiac CH-601XL, a low-wing, fixed-gear, single-engine, two-seat general aviation airplane designed by Zenair, Inc. The CH-601XL, was certified as a Special Light Sport Aircraft (SLSA) by FAA in 2005.
Thirdly, following is an update concerning Missouri Aviation. Here is the only list of current Bills as follows: