...And Here, Darn it, Are The Heartbreakers

It is both the most "fun," and most difficult task, facing the ANN staff at the end of every year -- determining who, or what, did the most to promote the cause of aviation in the past 365 days... while also chastising those people or entities that did all they could to undermine the many successes the aerospace community has managed to accomplish.

Alas, 2007 saw more than its fair share of downers, aviation-wise. Sure, "stuff" happens... but a few folks, issues, or entities seemed to go out of their way to create problems for the world of aviation.

So... it is ANN's annual obligation to recognize a solid dozen of our Aero-Heartbreakers for 2007... in something of an informal order, starting from 12th to the 1st. Let us know what you think of our selections... whom YOU would have liked be included, or omitted, from such a list. In the meantime, we hope those who had something to do with this year's selections think a little more positively about the welfare of this industry, so that future lists become harder and harder to catalog. Be it ignorance, arrogance or just plain incompetence, these were the folks or topics that made our lot a whole lot more difficult and immeasurably injured the aviation world in the past year.

Shame on those issues, folks or topics that made our lot so much tougher in 2007...

From the Heartbreaker's List #6: FAA v. The World

While no one ever expected that FAA was their 'friend...' no one expected them to take sides. And in 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration might as well have been called the Federal Airline Administration... especially with the revolving door of senior people who crossed over from 800 Independence Ave to cushy jobs in the airline sector.

While I haven't had very high expectations for their sense of fairness or propriety, this year the FAA's conduct came as a crushing disappointment -- a breach of trust with aviators nationwide. The FAA has been empowered by the government to represent us all... not just those with the most political favors in their pocket. FAA's obedience to the airline agenda over the past year clearly defined that FAA's insistence of impartiality was a joke.

Worst though, was the fact that they took on an agenda that not only was heavily weighted toward airline interests, but the rationale and data they used simply did not make sense. In this day and age of intense journalistic scrutiny and public oversight, one would think that the FAA, (among others) would understand that broadcasting facts and figures that can not pass the smell test simply doesn't cut it.

Of course; there is the ever-present issue of the declining condition of the National Airspace System, airline performance and the state of our failing aviation infrastructure... but I must note that if the FAA would quit wasting time and resources on nebulous, poorly defined, "Pie In The Sky" systems that create such disharmony, controversy and distrust, and simply bring everyone together to build some sense of collective agreement, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Mind you; we blame a number of factors for this -- not the least of which was the loss of a once-critical facet of the FAA mission... to promote the interests of aviation. Killed off several years ago, this loss has given the FAA carte blanche to wage war against its own clientele and users... and further alienated it from all of the aviation world. It's not that a whole lot of people trusted the FAA, its just that what little trust was left seems to be have been decimated by the poor decisons, the airline favoritism and the continuing deadlock in the FAA's ability to carry out any significant aspect of the missions that are still within their purview. All in all, the FAA really needs an overhaul, as well as a serious credibility upgrade -- if that's even possible at this late date. We shall see.

FMI: You tell us, how much do YOU distruct today's FAA?