Knute Rockne Caused the Creation of the FAA

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) owes its creation to many significant events in aviation history. One of them includes the creation of the Air Mail Act of 1925, which spearheaded the creation of commercial airlines that worked for a profit. (FAA, 2011) This act leads to rapid growth in the development of aircraft and of air traffic. The increasing volume of air traffic, lead to the early development of air traffic control, which was based on visual signals. (FAA, 2011) One real problem was that with early aviation, the ability to see other aircraft while flying was limited and usually a last second visual. Another problem was that as aircraft were being built, there were no real safety standards that were required, when building them. As a result, planes were literally falling apart in the air because of developmental faults. With all these accidents happening, it was becoming apparent that there were problems that had to be corrected, which needed to involve the Federal Government. In 1926, the Air Commerce Act charged the Department of Commerce is responsible for aviation oversight. (FAA, 2011) This meant enforcing air traffic rules, pilot licensing and aircraft certification to name a few responsibilities. One of the first acts of the renamed Bureau of Air Commerce enacted was the establishment of air traffic control centers at specific airports in the Midwest and Eastern United States. This was the first real effort to track the location of planes while in flight. They used maps and blackboards and although they had no radio communication with the airplanes, they communicated by telephone with dispatchers, other radio operators and other air traffic controllers to monitor their location. On March 3... ... middle of paper ... ...kne. His popularity was already legendary and the crash that killed him attracted more visibility into the cause of the crash than any other single event. This crash compiled with the crash in 1935 that killed Senator Cutting can be traced as the two single events that caused the creation of the FAA. These crashes influenced the creation of the CAA which evolved into the FAA that exists today. Works Cited Federal Administration Administration. (2011). A Brief History of the FAA. Retrieved from http://www.FAA.gov/about/history/brief_history/. Lava1964. (2011). Knute Rockne Plane Crash. Retrieved from http://www.yourememberthat.com/media/14600/Knute_Rockne_Plane_Crash/. Mola, Roger. (2011). U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission: Accident Investigation. Retrieved from http://centennialofflight.gov/essay/Government_Role/accident_investigation/POL17.htm

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