FAA Daily Broadcast - January 27, 2022

Federal Aviation Administration Employees sent this bulletin at 01/27/2022 02:00 PM EST

Stay vigilant and protect yourself and your coworkers from COVID-19 – mask guidelines for facilities are updated weekly with available CDC information.

Kim Coplen Spearheads ERAM

“A complete stranger overheard my 24-year-old self discussing my not-so-inspiring career and handed me a card, told me about the FAA, and said I should check it out. Within two weeks, the entire trajectory of my life was forever changed. I haven’t been bored a day since; it’s been an amazing journey, and I’m excited for this next phase.”

Innovation for automation. This is the vision Kim Coplen brings to her new position as program manager for En Route Automation Modernization, the air traffic control system enabling center controllers working high-altitude flights faster processing and more tools on a modernized display.

Workforce Advisory Bulletin:

Ethics OGE Form 450 Deadline: OGE FORM 450 Annual Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports are due February 15. If you are required to complete a report, you should have already received an email from 9-NATL-AGC-FORM-450@faa.gov.

Financial Management Training: AFM-800’s Quarter 1 Financial Management training schedule for FY22 is now available. Register for an upcoming session.

Inclement Weather Guidance: As winter weather forecasts impact operations across the nation refer to the FAA’s policy guidance regarding telework provisions, dismissals, and office closures.

IT Updates: Level up with Office 365 by watching our on-demand training classes covering Teams, OneNote, OneDrive, and more. Microsoft Whiteboard is here! Visually collaborate and brainstorm in real-time from computers and in Microsoft Teams.

FAA Toastmasters Clubs Joint Virtual Open House on Feb. 1

Toastmasters Community Virtual Open House: Join us for a virtual open house hosted by Toastmasters clubs at the FAA. Gain confidence and find your voice to be an effective presenter. This event is on February 1 at 12 pm ET. Register via Eventbrite to attend.

Celebrating Service: Erwin Jaumann

At first glance, ACQ’s Erwin Jaumann’s career path seems linear and predictable. He grew up in the Bronx, graduated from college, got a job – and the rest, as he says, is history. But just like the stories Jaumann studied as a history major at Hunter College in New York, the extraordinary parts of his story are in the details. This year will mark his 46th year in the federal service – 30 of which have been dedicated to the FAA.

FAA Academy Earns Accolades

The Federal Government Distance Learning Association recently presented the Five Star Award to the FAA Academy Training and Evaluation branch. The award recognizes a federal government organization for their leadership and best practices in the development and application of proven distance learning technologies. AMA-23’s Train the Trainer Program Manager Rich Schrum was also recognized with the Hall of Fame Award - presented to individuals who have made a significant contribution in promoting and developing distance learning in the federal government.

Find out where you can make a blood donation.

January is National Blood Donor Month: Blood supply across the Nation is critically low. We urgently need all who can, to donate and do so regularly! Your donations make an immediate impact on service members, their families, retirees, and veterans in need worldwide.

FAA, United Kingdom CAA Strengthen Collaboration

The FAA and the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) finalized an agreement that will allow sharing of each other’s evaluation and acceptance of flight simulators. The agreement will reduce the regulatory burden on business while maintaining aviation safety and is the result of a yearlong effort to continue mutual cooperation and technical assistance in evaluating, accepting and setting qualification standards. The FAA also reopened its office at the U.S. Embassy in London to support cooperation and technical assistance between the two countries following the UK’s exit from the European Union and CAA’s separation from EASA.

FAA Events Calendar: Next week - NBCFAE & TWO present Reflections - Trials to Triumphs; FAA’s Toastmasters virtual open house; BOC webinar on ATC pre-retirement; Career planning - Taking charge of your career; And TSP webinars for all ages and stages of life.

From the Headlines:

FAA chief to testify at U.S. House hearing on 5G impact on aviation safety – Reuters
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is expected to hear from Steve Dickson and aviation and wireless industry officials. These include the head of Airlines for America, a group representing passenger and cargo airlines, and Aerospace Industries Association, representing airplane manufacturers.

A third of airline pilots still not flying as pandemic drags on –survey – Reuters
A poll of more than 1700 pilots by UK-based GOOSE Recruitment and industry publication FlightGlobal, released on Wednesday, found 62% globally were employed and currently flying, up from 43% a year earlier.

Families of crash victims ask US to reopen Boeing settlement – Associated Press
Several family members and their lawyers held a video meeting Wednesday with Garland. They told the attorney general that the Justice Department violated a federal law by not informing them before finalizing the settlement in January 2021, two weeks before the Trump administration left office.

A Flight Attendant Fell 33,000 Feet and Lived to Tell the Tale 50 Years Ago – The Drive
The story of Vesna Vulovic’s survival after a DC-9 airliner exploded in mid-air is a miraculous one.

Phractyl Defends Its Bizarre, Bird-Like Aircraft Design – Flying
When a South African company calling itself Phractyl recently unveiled its concept art for a bird-like electric aircraft called Macrobat, members of the global aviation community expressed skepticism.

John David Duggar involved in plane crash after reported 'double engine failure' – Fox News
John David Duggar, the former "19 Kids and Counting" star, was involved in a frightening aviation accident in October. The fledgling pilot, 32, was at the helm of a Piper PA-30 aircraft when the plane went down in Waverly, Tennessee, around 7:13 p.m. local time, according to a preliminary accident report from the NTSB.

Eighty years since the Holocaust began, violent antisemitism remains a threat - as witnessed at a Texas synagogue this month. The lessons of history continue to be relevant today and are the focus of this solemn International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

SST Report Raises Questions

January 27, 1965: The National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Supersonic Transport concluded that prototype development of a supersonic transport (SST) was “clearly warranted” and cited evidence from research, tests, and studies of sonic boom phenomena - based on data collected by FAA in the Oklahoma City area. The publication of their report ignited a debate that continues today surrounding the economic and environmental feasibility of an SST. The committee’s conclusions regarding the impacts of sonic booms were immediately criticized by engineers who pointed out that the prospective total number of sonic booms created by a future fleet of SST would potentially cause widespread damage to buildings and be unbearable for citizens to tolerate. Competing reports and engineering studies commissioned by the FAA, DOT and the White House only further obscured available facts, and the program was de-funded by Congress in 1969.

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