Federal Aviation Act Of 1958

Federal Aviation Act of 1958

After World War II there was an excess of aircraft and trained pilots in the United States, which significantly increase in private and commercial flights. An increase in the use of private aircraft and large passenger planes meant an increase in the possibly of aircraft safety incidents. Even though safety measures had been put in place to tend to large number of aircraft in the skies, in late 1950’s there were two unfortunate accidents that finally led to legislation that would be a major change to the world of aviation that affects us even today. The introduction of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 spurred several changes in aviation that eventually led to the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration.

On the morning of June 30, 1956, United Flight 718 collided with TWA Flight 2 over the Grand Canyon, resulting in 128 fatalities, which was at the time the largest loss of life in an aviation accident.() Since the incident took place in a portion of uncontrolled airspace, and had a high number of fatalities, it became very high profile, and public concern for airline safety increased . In 1957 Congress passed the Airways Modernization Act that established the Airways Modernization Board (AMB) headed by General Elwood Quesada. After the AMB was established regulations began to change aviation safety, but again the change wasn’t fast enough. On May 20, 1958, a mid-air collision between a military jet and a commercial airliner over Brunswick, Maryland, showed further imperfections in the regulation of air traffic, particularly the need for unified control of airspace for civil and military flights. Soon after the Brunswick collision, Senator Mike Monroney and Representative Oren Harris swiftly introduced the Federal Aviation Act. President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the White House's support of the legislation on June 13, stating "recent midair collisions of aircraft occasioning tragic losses of human life," (Cite). The legislation passed Congress and was signed

It is very sad that it took two tragic and deadly accidents to make a significant change in the way aviation was regulated. The incidents that led to the creation of the bill that created the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 could have been prevented if safety precautions had been put in place sooner. Unfortunately, the aviation industry was only reactive rather than proactive when it came to airline safety. Nowadays, the private and commercial aviation safety is much more proactive and safety is the number one priority. FAA regulation has not only help aviation become one the top modes of transportation, but also one of the safest in the