Legislative Acts

     Humanity first took powered flight in 1903 and ever since that achievement, the world as we knew got smaller. We found a new realm to explore and much like exploring the west in the 1800’s, it was wild. Aviation was a newfound form of transportation, and over time airplanes became reliable enough to start ferrying passengers and cargo. Fast forward to 1938 and then President Roosevelt signed The Civil Aeronautics Act, which extended the reach of the federal regulation and transferred responsibility to an independent Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) and a 3-member Air Safety Board (1). The CAA was now had oversight in determining if private air mail and commercial companies were charging a fair price, participation on international discussions of regulations and most importantly, safety.

    In the years after the creation of the CAA, aviation safety improved dramatically. The agency implemented changes to the certification process of airman and mechanics, added regular aircraft inspections and much more. In 1940, with the new regulation outlining training and certification of airman, while working with hundreds of colleges and flight schools around the country, the CAA certified over 8000 civilian pilots without a single fatality. In that same year, the CAA was reorganized into the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Civil Aeronautics Authority in the Department of Commerce which would subsequently become the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1958. Without the advent of the CAA, the aviation industry would not have grown into the robust and safe industry it is today. 

(1) https://livingnewdeal.org/glossary/civil-aeronautics-act-1938/