Civil aeronautics authority

Its functions included testing and licensing of pilots, certification of aircraft and investigation of accidents. In , the Aeronautics Branch was renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce , to reflect the growing importance of commercial flying.

Civil aeronautics act of 1938

It was subsequently divided into two authorities: the Civil Aeronautics Administration CAA , concerned with air traffic control , and the Civil Aeronautics Board CAB , concerned with safety regulations and accident investigation. In response to the September 11 attacks , the federal government launched the Transportation Security Administration with broad powers to protect air travel and other transportation modes against criminal activity.

European enthusiasm for air power was sparked by an arms race and then by the outbreak of World War I in During the following year, the United States Congress took a step toward revitalizing American aviation by establishing the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics NACA , an organization dedicated to the science of flight.

Upon entering World War I in , the United States government mobilized the nation's economy, with results that included an expansion of the small aviation manufacturing industry. Before the end of the conflict, Congress voted funds for an innovative postal program that would serve as a model for commercial air operations.

Civil aeronautics administration usa

Army , the Post Office in initiated an intercity airmail route. In , the Airmail Act of authorized the Post Office to contract with private airlines to transport mail. The Airmail Act created American commercial aviation and several of today's airlines were formed to carry airmail in the late s including Trans World Airlines , Northwest Airlines , and United Airlines.

Aviation in the United States was not regulated during the early 20th century. A succession of accidents during the pre-war exhibition era —16 and barnstorming decade of the s gave way to early forms of federal regulation intended to instill public confidence in the safety of air transportation. At the urging of the aviation industry, that believed the airplane could not reach its full commercial potential without federal action to improve and maintain safety standards, [ citation needed ] President Calvin Coolidge appointed a board to investigate the issue.

The board's report favored federal safety regulation.