Introduction
The Federal Aviation Administration is an important organization in the aviation industry. It has always played a critical role in aviation regulation and control of the air safety. This essay provides a brief history of aviation as it appeared earlier than the Federal Aviation Administration. Knowledge of the aviation history will help to understand its origins and the background of this institution’s development. Moreover, the history of the Federal Aviation Administration is described to discover the chronology of its appearance.
Reasons for the establishment of the Federal Aviation Administration
The flying history began a long time ago. People always had the intention to learn how to fly. Even the legends were told about this phenomenon during the ancient times (Brady, 2000). Before the invention of the first plane model, people used to utilize “hydrogen” gas balloons (Petreschu & Petreschu, 2013).
Wrights were recognized as the first creators of the plane (Hallion, 2003). They were smart photo-engineers, who were working on the details and continuously revising the blueprints (Hallion, 2003). These facts helped them to create the first flying plane. Meanwhile Wrights demonstrated the plane, European pilots were already making flights (Hallion, 2003).
Although, it has to be mentioned that Wrights’ impact on the aerial age was not to establish another plane but to improve the flying techniques. As Europe was developing faster than the United States of America, it was using the planes during the First World War (Hallion, 2003). After that, the development of the flying machines continued as people had a desire to decrease the time required for the transportation. Another important aspect was to boost safety as flying involved high risk.
Soon it became a vital part of the life. Planes were widely used, especially, during the war times. Although, during these times, the planes were still considered dangerous (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). Pilots needed to fly as low as possible to navigate in the air and understand the locations (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015).
However, low flying could not exist for the long period as many accidents happened (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). It was necessary to launch the first airlines to start the flying business. The primary air traffic control was established to increase safety (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015).
The attempt was primitive as people were standing on the runways and showing signals to the planes (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). Another important factor had the influence on the establishment of the Federal Aviation Administration. It was the growing demand for the air travel (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). It occurred that more people started considering traveling by air as it was beneficial.
All these aspects are the crucial reasons for the Federal Aviation Administration’s origin. It was necessary to make the flying process organized since it still seemed dangerous and chaotic. Systemization of the takeoffs, landings and flights is the essential part of the traffic control procedures today. Nevertheless, it was not on the same level of development in the past that is why the Federal Aviation Administration was established.
The History of the Federal Aviation Administration
After the first airlines had been introduced, it was necessary to establish the federal institution, which would control the safety regulations of the flights (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). It was clear that it was not possible to gain a market share without the federal support. As the importance of the airline industry was growing, more air traffic control centers were being established (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). It helped to increase the safety and allowed to make flights to the diverse destinations.
The federal aviation continued evolving as President Franklin Roosevelt decided to establish “the independent Civil Aeronautics Authority” (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015, para. 7). It increased the level of control of the federal aviation, as it supervised the majority of the flights. However, the accidents still occurred as not all of the air space was covered by the air traffic control towers.
The Civil Aeronautics Authority was transformed into the Federal Aviation Agency in 1958 (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). As the number of employees was growing, it was not possible to locate all of them in one building. It was the main reason for the agency’s relocation to the Federal Office Building (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015).
It could be said that these facts implied that the institution was gaining importance on the national level. As the air traffic was developing, it was essential to create a new agency, which would be fully responsible for the aviation safety.
President Johnson was the key person who was responsible for the transformation of the agency into administration (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). It was necessary to give extra duties to the administration, as it seemed that there was a lack of safety (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). The high level of the required safety was a vital reason for the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration. Furthermore, it was critical to organize the transportation and avoid accidents and complications.
The Role of the Federal Aviation Administration Today
Today the Federal Aviation Administrations has the same attitudes regarding the safety regulations and organization of the transportation as it had before (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). Nonetheless, it is strict about the aircraft safety and certifications (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015).
It pays close attention to the air traffic control and the organization of the flights (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration performs its duties on the international level (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). The key reason for this matter is the globalization (Oum, Park, & Zhang, 2000). As people have a tendency to travel around the world in case of business and vacation, it is necessary to have international air traffic control.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it could be said that the aviation is rapidly developing. It is a constant process as it continues today. People always have a tendency to search for solutions and innovations in different industries, and aviation is one of them. The history of aviation provided a better understanding of the origins of aviation control. Safety was one of the main reasons why the Federal Aviation Administration was established.
Before its presence, the landings and take-offs were controlled physically as no mechanical systems were involved in the process. People used to stay on the runways and provide the required signals to the landing plane. Nowadays, the air traffic control is highly automated.
Nonetheless, the accidents still take place, but the amount of them is dramatically lower as it was in the past. Today the Federal Aviation Administration performs similar duties as in the past. Nevertheless, they are focused internationally and pay even closer attention to the safety regulations.
References
Brady, T. (2000). The American aviation experience: A history. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
Federal Aviation Administration. (2015). History.
Hallion, R. (2003). Taking flight: Inventing the aerial age from antiquity to First World War. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.
Oum, T., Park, J., & Zhang, A. (2000). Globalization of strategic alliances: the case of the airline industry. New York, NY: Elsevier Science Publishing Company, Inc.
Petreschu, R., & Petreschu, F. (2013). The aviation history. Norderstedt, Germany: Books on Demand.