House lawmakers continue to move quickly to ensure that FAA conducts a formal rulemaking if it plans to require sleep apnea testing and treatment for pilots and controllers.

Europe A U.K. Aviation Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) call to have Boeing 777 interior lighting crashworthiness improved has been rejected by the U.S. FAA, but Boeing addressed the matter well before an accident brought the issue to light, AAIB's latest annual safety report reveals.

The best MROs have contingency plans

A recent report from the U.S. Transportation Department's Inspector General sheds some light on the impact of sequestration on FAA's certification efforts and related delays. Top FAA executives have said a hiring freeze put in place late last year has forced the agency' s Aviation Safety (AVS) branch to allocate more of its limited resources to immediate safety issues. The loser has been certification projects that are either resource-intensive or simply new.

An FAA rulemaking advisory committee's recommendations on improving the consistency of rules interpretations is starting bear fruit in a much-needed area: the guidance behind regulations. Dorenda Baker, FAA's director of Aircraft Certification Services, says the agency is tackling the committee's most pressing recommendations: conducting a review of existing guidance to eliminate duplicative, conflicting or irrelevant guidance; and ensuring the rest is available in an electronic database.

The world 's best-selling jet is a winner for aftermarket suppliers

Can you pinpoint one or two industry trends that emerged in 2013? One could argue that the debates about OEMs' increasing penetration of the aftermarket became more vociferous this year. But did they? While safety issues will be mainly black or white, many MRO issues have shifted to shades of gray.

When Northern European and North Atlantic air traffic came to halt in 2010 following the eruption of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, Air France Industries KLM Engineering and Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) continued to serve its customers by shipping parts and components from its operations in Miami and Kuala Lumpur. This is one example of the risk-management initiative supporting its supply chain operations, say Benjamin Moreau and Harmen Lanser, members of the component services team.