...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.