STEVE DICKSON

The FAA instituted the policy in January 2021 to stem a surge in unruly passenger behavior.

A jury in Texas has found a former Boeing test pilot not guilty of deceiving federal regulators about a key flight-control system on the Boeing 737 Max jetliner.

Steve Dickson took the post in the wake of two fatal Boeing crashes.

The companies previously agreed to a one-month delay in 5G after the airline industry raised concerns about interference.

Verizon and AT&T have rejected a request by the U.S. government to delay the rollout of next-generation wireless technology.

More than 5,500 unruly passenger incidents have been reported this year to date.

The FAA has also proposed more than $1 million in fines for bad behavior.

The FAA is accused of letting American Airlines off the hook on critical maintenance procedures.

The FAA is accused of letting American Airlines off the hook on critical maintenance procedures.

Aviation industry leaders and flight attendants will testify before Congress Thursday on ways to stop unruly passengers.

Beachgoers scrub away at black heels after the tide rolls bugs on to a beach in Maine.

Scientists have determined that a black substance that had settled near the shore line over several days at a beach in Maine is made up of millions of dead bugs. One of the regulars who walk Wells Beach, Ed Smith, took photos of the substance in the sand and sent them to the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Portland Press Herald reported Tuesday. Steve Dickson, a marine geologist with Maine Geological Survey, figured out what was going on with the help of two retired oceanographers who live nearby.

The issue temporarily took more than 100 newly built 737 Max planes out of service last month, but is unrelated to the flight control system problem blamed for two fatal crashes.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it's received around 1,300 reports of disruptive passengers since February.

Airlines are pulling dozens of Boeing 737 Max planes out of service again, this time to inspect them for a possible electrical problem.

Southwest Airlines on Monday said it agreed to buy 100 of Boeing's 737 Max 7 planes as it plans to retire older jets, sticking with the manufacturer that has been the backbone of its fleet for 50 years. It also added 155 options for 737 Max 7 or Max 8 airplanes through 2029. U.S. regulators lifted the 20-month grounding of the 737 Max in November and many other countries have followed suit since then. Southwest said it would take delivery of the first 30 737 Max 7 planes in 2022. Southwest will configure the 737 Max 7 with 150 seats, compared with the older model of the 737 it's replacing, which has 143 seats.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday said it would continue to crack down on unruly passengers, extending the zero-tolerance policy it implemented in January. Airlines have reported more than 500 cases since late December, according to the agency. Most of those cases were related to travelers who refused to wear face masks, which both airlines and the federal government require for commercial air travel, the FAA said. "I have decided to extend the FAA's unruly-passenger zero-tolerance policy as we continue to do everything we can to confront the pandemic," FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statemtn. The number of cases we're seeing is still far too high, and it tells us urgent action continues to be required."

The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said it fined Boeing $5.4 million after the aircraft manufacturer failed to meet the terms of a 2015 settlement and another $1.21 million to settle two other safety-related cases. The FAA said Boeing didn't comply with a 2015 agreement that required the company to improve its safety and regulatory oversight. "Boeing failed to meet all of its obligations under the settlement agreement, and the FAA is holding Boeing accountable by imposing additional penalties," FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement. Boeing had paid $12 million as part of the 2015 settlement. "Boeing believes that the announcement today fairly resolves previously-announced civil penalty actions while accounting for ongoing safety, quality and compliance process improvements."

United is among the carriers that has grounded the planes. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson identified the focus on the stepped-up inspections as hollow fan blades unique to the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine model and used solely on Boeing 777s. In South Korea, Asiana Airlines grounded nine, seven of which were in service, and Korean Air said it grounded 16 aircraft, six of which are in service. The airline has said the plane had engine trouble after takeoff and returned to Naha. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways will stop operating a combined 32 planes with that engine, Nikkei reported.

(Hayden Smith via AP)Federal aviation regulators are ordering United Airlines to step up inspections of all Boeing 777s equipped with the type of engine that suffered a catastrophic failure over Denver on Saturday. United said it is temporarily removing those aircraft from service, as meanwhile Boeing recommended grounding aircraft with that model engine until the Federal Aviation. Pieces of the casing of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained down on suburban neighborhoods. “We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney," it said in a statement issued Sunday. AdUnited is the only U.S. airline with the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 in its fleet, the FAA said.

FILE- In this Sept. 30, 202, file photo, a Boeing 737 Max jet, piloted by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson, prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle. Changes mandated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, or EASA, include a package of software upgrades, a reworking of the electrical system, maintenance checks, operations manual updates and new crew training. “We have reached a significant milestone on a long road,” said EASA executive director Patrick Ky.“Following extensive analysis by EASA, we have determined that the 737 MAX can safely return to service. Ky said EASA will continue to monitor 737 Max operations closely as the aircraft resumes service. The 737 Max returned to the skies in the United States last month, after the Federal Aviation Administration approved changes that Boeing made to the automated flight control system.

FILE- In this Sept. 30, 202, file photo, a Boeing 737 Max jet, piloted by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson, prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)BERLIN – The Boeing 737 Max will be approved to resume flights in Europe next week, following nearly two years of reviews after the aircraft was involved in two deadly crashes that saw the planes grounded worldwide, the head of the European aviation safety agency said Tuesday. “It will be cleared to fly again from next week,” he said at an online event hosted by Germany's Aviation Press Club. “We expect to publish it next week, which means that the Max will be cleared to fly again in Europe from our perspective,” he said. The 737 Max returned to the skies in the United States last month, after the Federal Aviation Administration approved changes that Boeing made to the automated flight control system.

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration told CNBC on Thursday there has been an unsettling rise in disruptions on commercial flights in recent days, prompting the regulatory agency to issue a stricter enforcement policy. "Really over the last few days, we have seen a distributing increase in on-board incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with their behavior," FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said on "Squawk on the Street." For example, American Airlines is pausing alcohol service on flights to and from Washington and Baltimore from Saturday through next Thursday. Delta Air Lines will not allow passengers who are flying to airports that serve Washington to check firearms, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC on Thursday. Dickson said his new FAA order will temporarily bolster its long-standing approach to flight disruptions.

Two key House Democrats on Monday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to crack down on unruly travelers and ensure that participants in last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol don't fly. Their comments come ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration and after reports of disruptions on board Washington, D.C.-bound flights ahead of Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol and other flights out of the area afterward. Alaska Airlines on Friday said it banned 14 travelers from a Washington, D.C.-to-Seattle flight. The travelers were "non-mask compliant, rowdy, argumentative and harassed our crew members," according to spokesman Ray Lane. FAA chief Dickson on Saturday warned travelers that they would face hefty fines and potential jail time if they engaged in unruly behavior.

Earlier in the week some passengers chanted "traitor" on a Delta Air Lines flight carrying Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah. In another flight this week, American Airlines flight attendants turned up the lights and ordered passengers to their seats after passengers shouted and cursed each other, according to a video shared by Twitter user @MaranieRae who said she was on the flight. "I expect all passengers to follow crew member instructions, which are in place for their safety and the safety of flight," said Dickson. American Airlines suspended serving alcohol on Washington D.C. flights. "We should work harder to keep problems on the ground," the AFA told member flight attendants after the FAA's warning Saturday.

"We're flying on a Boeing 737 Max," Capt. The Max flight back to Miami later Tuesday was nearly full, she said. United Airlines plans to start Max flights on Feb. 11 from its Denver and Houston hubs. The airline hasn't noticed passengers asking to change from flights operated by 737 Max aircraft to other planes, Isom said. American Airlines flight 718, the first U.S. Boeing 737 MAX commercial flight since regulators lifted a 20-month grounding in November, takes off from Miami, Florida, December 29, 2020.

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday said he is "100% confident" in the Boeing 737 Max following a nearly two-year grounding of the planes after two fatal crashes. Dickson, a former airline pilot, flew the updated 737 Max himself in September. The crashes of the nearly new 737 Max jets, both shortly after they took off, prompted a worldwide grounding of what had been Boeing's bestselling aircraft. Pilots in both Max flights that crashed battled the planes' automated flight-control system, which has been at the center of several investigations into the crashes. Pilots weren't informed about the system and mentions of it had been removed from training manuals when they were delivered to airlines.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday cleared Boeing's 737 Max to fly passengers again after a nearly two-year ban, a turning point in a protracted crisis for the aircraft giant stemming from two crashes of its top-selling plane that killed 346 people. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson after ungrounding the Max said a repeat of the conditions that led to both crashes is now "impossible" thanks to design and training changes. "They cut corners in the original design and they're cutting corners on the fixes," said Michael Stumo, whose daughter Samya died in the second 737 Max crash. Boeing has a backlog of more than 3,000 other Boeing 737 Max planes, when stripping out orders that the manufacturer believes could be canceled. That tally has declined as the lengthy grounding coupled with the coronavirus pandemic prompted customers to call off hundreds of orders.

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)After nearly two years and a pair of deadly crashes, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has cleared Boeing’s 737 Max for flight. The nation’s air safety agency announced the move early Wednesday, saying it was done after a “comprehensive and methodical” 20-month review process. U.S. airlines will fly the Max once Boeing updates critical software and computers and pilots receive training in flight simulators. The FAA says the order was made in cooperation with air safety regulators worldwide. Anton Sahadi, who lives in Jakarta, Indonesia, and lost two brothers in the Lion Air crash, said it's too early for the Max to fly again.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday cleared Boeing's 737 Max to fly again, CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave reports. The FAA will let Boeing resume delivery of newly produced 737 Max aircraft, which will have the design changes in place. A pair of Boeing 737 Max jets seen in an undated handout photo from Boeing. The Air Line Pilots Association expressed confidence that the 737 Max is safe. Boeing 737 Max airplanes are seen parked on Boeing property near Boeing Field on August 13, 2019, in Seattle.

A Boeing 737 MAX jet lands following a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington on June 29, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has roiled airline finances around the world, hurting demand for new planes and helping to drive up cancellations and deferrals. "The Max isn't coming into a situation where everything is fine now," said Phil Seymour, president of London-based aviation consulting firm IBA Group. In the first 10 months of 2020, Boeing lost 393 aircraft orders after factoring in new sales, cancellations and orders for planes that were converted to other aircraft. Pilots in both Max flights battled the planes' automated flight-control system, which has been at the center of several investigations into the crashes.

An employee walks past a Boeing 737 Max aircraft seen parked at the Renton Municipal Airport in Renton, Washington, January 10, 2020. Boeing on Tuesday reported more cancellations of its beleaguered 737 Max jets, just as regulators wrap up their review of the planes following two fatal crashes. The aircraft manufacturer is facing dual crises of the 737 Max grounding, now in its 20th month, and the coronavirus pandemic, which as devastated air travel and the market for new aircraft. Boeing customers canceled 12 orders for the 737 Max in October and the company posted no new ones. Including aircraft Boeing removed from its official backlog, its outstanding orders shrunk to 4,275 from 4,325 last month.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Chief Steve Dickson, sitting inside the flight deck of a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, conducts a pre-flight check ahead of an evaluation flight from Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, September 30, 2020. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration was upbeat about Boeing's 737 Max after testing out the plane on Wednesday, the latest turn in the process of getting the jetliners flying again after two fatal crashes. The 737 Max jets, Boeing's bestseller, have been grounded worldwide since March 2019 after crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed 346 people. He flew the 737 Max 7, the smallest model in the family. American Airlines, which had 24 Max planes in its fleet when it was grounded, is preparing to train its 737 pilots on the planes as early as November.

(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday said it had closed the air traffic control tower at Las Vegas International Airport after a controller was presumed to have contracted COVID-19. A flight tracking website, flightradar24.com, said nearly 500 flights had been canceled at Las Vegas airport Thursday, which is receiving flights at a reduced rate. On Tuesday evening, a control tower at Chicago Midway International Airport was closed after three technicians tested positive for coronavirus. Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) said Thursday it has ceased operations at Chicago Midway and now canceled more than 200 flights after saying Wednesday it had canceled more than 50 flights. The Las Vegas tower is being cleaned and the FAA is determining how many controllers will need to self-isolate.

FILE PHOTO: Steve Dickson, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, speaks at the UK Aviation Club about the Boeing 737 MAX, in London, Britain, February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Peter NichollsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson told employees that he will self-quarantine at home for seven days after a brief interaction with one of two members of Congress who have tested positive for COVID-19. Dickson said he is feeling well and said he has not received a test because he is symptom free. The smart and constructive thing for me to do is stay home, Dickson said. Some news outlets on Wednesday published photos of Dickson shaking hands with Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, who has now tested positive, during a congressional hearing last week.

The tails of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked at Boeing facilities at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, September 16, 2019. The 737 Max was grounded in March after two crashes killed 346 people. In January, the FAA and Boeing said they were reviewing a wiring issue that could potentially cause a short circuit on the grounded 737 Max. Dickson, the U.S. regulator responsible for approving 737 Max updates, said a key certification flight might take place in the next few weeks, though it could depend on how Boeing resolves the new software issue. While international regulators including EASA might differ in terms of the operational return to service of the plane, he said they agreed on what needed to be fixed.

Two workers walk under the wing of a 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, March 27, 2019. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration has told airlines that it could lift a flight ban on the Boeing 737 Max before midyear, ahead of the manufacturer's new timeline that it shared with its customers this week. The news sent Boeing's shares higher. Boeing shares rose on the news, which was reported earlier by Reuters, and closed up 1.7% at $323.05, paring its losses for the week to 0.3%. WATCH: Steve Liesman assesses 737 Max economic impact

United Airlines is pulling the Boeing 737 Max from its schedule through June 4, a date that is two months later than when other U.S. airlines plan to resume flights of the troubled planes. Just last month, United said it would target bringing the Max back in early March. In the last week, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both pushed their respective target dates for resuming 737 Max flights into early April. That news prompted Boeing to announce it will temporarily halt 737 Max production in January. Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems has announced it will suspend production of its 737 Max parts starting Jan. 1.

Boeing, whose board is holding a regularly scheduled meeting in Chicago, cut 737 Max production in April by 20% from 52 to 42 aircraft a month in the wake of a second fatal crash of the best-selling plane within five months. Boeing shares fell Monday as the company is expected to soon decide whether to further cut or suspend production of the 737 Max as the timeline for the beleaguered plane's return to service slips into 2020. A temporary shutdown of production would ripple throughout Boeing's supply chain to companies that make parts for the 737 Max. Spirit AeroSystems, which makes 737 Max fuselages fell 1.6%, while General Electric, the engine-maker for the plane along with its French partner Safran, dropped 1.5%. The plane's grounding has cost airlines, including American, Southwest, and United, hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Boeing 737 MAX airplanes sit parked at a Boeing facility adjacent to King County International Airport, known as Boeing Field, on May 31, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. Boeing 737 MAX airplanes have been grounded following two fatal crashes in which 346 passengers and crew were killed in October 2018 and March 2019. U.S. aviation regulators won't likely clear Boeing's troubled 737 Max airplanes for flight until some time in 2020, Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson told CNBC on Wednesday. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg has not made "any requests to cut corners" throughout the recertification process, Dickson said. The FAA has been under fire for its approval of the now-grounded 737 Max.

The Federal Aviation Administration is planning to review hundreds of new Boeing 737 Max planes individually before they can be delivered to customers, an added wrinkle into the already-delayed certification of the jetliners, grounded since mid-March after two fatal crashes. The 737 Max is Boeing's bestselling plane and the manufacturer halted deliveries and slashed production of the jets after the worldwide grounding in March. Nearly 350 people were killed in two 737 Max crashes one in Indonesia in October 2018 and another in Ethiopia in March prompting several investigations, including a criminal probe. U.S. 737 Max customers American, United and Southwest have removed the planes from their schedules until early March. READ MORE: FAA says it again: Boeing's 737 Max is not ready for certification

Steve Dickson Source: Delta Air LinesThe Federal Aviation Administration, under fire for its approval of the now-grounded Boeing 737 Max, will work to better assess how human pilots interact with increasingly automated and complex aircraft, the agency's chief said Tuesday. He also called for better data sharing as the FAA oversees aircraft and a "more holistic approach versus a transactional item-by-line-item approach to aircraft certification." The FAA is reviewing Boeing's software changes to the 737 Max that aim to make the system implicated in both crashes less aggressive. Boeing is also planning to feed the system with a second sensor, instead of a single sensor. In the crashes, that single sensor received an inaccurate reading and triggered the flight-control system, known as MCAS.

An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, March 21, 2019. Regulators have asked Boeing to fill in gaps in the documentation on its proposed 737 MAX software fix, industry sources told Reuters, raising new questions over the planemaker's hopes to return the jet to U.S. service by year-end. The world's largest planemaker submitted documentation in a key part of an approval process, already delayed by months, for a 737 MAX software upgrade in the wake of two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed 346 people. A person with knowledge of his thinking said he was partly referring to the documentation audit. For example, in 2008, EASA nearly derailed Europe's Airbus A400M military transporter over software documentation following a failed audit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Democrats on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday introduced legislation to mandate numerous aviation safety recommendations in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people and led to the planes grounding in March. FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past unpainted Boeing 737 MAX aircraft seen parked in an aerial photo at Renton Municipal Airport near the Boeing Renton facility in Renton, Washington, U.S. July 1, 2019. Congress and independent panels have been looking at the performance of a key anti-stall safety system tied to the two fatal crashes known as MCAS. The bill would direct the FAA to adopt recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Transportation Departments Inspector General and ICAO. The bill would also create an FAA Center of Excellence dedicated to studying flight automation and human factors in commercial aircraft.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson demanded an explanation from Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg in a letter Friday. Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson demanded an explanation from Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg in a letter Friday. The company didn't explain why it waited months before turning over the document, but said it was cooperating with the congressional investigation into the Max. The FAA said it "finds the substance of the document concerning" and is disappointed that Boeing waited months before bringing them to the agency's attention. Boeing shares tumbled 5% on the disclosure of the communications that the FAA had been unaware of.

This timeline, which has not been previously reported, is a sign Boeing engineers' months long work to fix the plane's flight control software is nearing completion. The tests will be conducted in a Boeing simulator in Seattle with Federal Aviation Administration regulators observing. Pilots in the simulator will experience scenarios and flight control failures that mirror the difficulties pilots experienced in the two deadly 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people combined. Once these crucial simulator tests conclude, which could take roughly a week, the FAA's certification flight will occur. "We continue to work with regulators on the safe return of the MAX to service," Boeing said in a statement.

Boeing 737 MAX airplanes are seen parked on Boeing property along the Duwamish River near Boeing Field on August 13, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. Aviation regulators around the world should come to an agreement on when the Boeing 737 Max can return to service, or risk hurting public trust with a piecemeal approach, the head of an airline trade group warned Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration's new chief Steve Dickson on Monday briefed his international counterparts on the certification process of the 737 Max ahead of a United Nations aviation meeting in Montreal this week. Investigators of both air disasters implicated flight-control software that was triggered in error, repeatedly pushing the nose of the planes down. "I'm not sure it's not necessary to have the same training," he said, adding that the U.N. aviation body should discuss it.

The Boeing 737 Max's return to service after two fatal crashes will be up to the safety assessment of each country, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday. The planes have been grounded worldwide since mid-March after two crashes within five months of one another killed 346 people. Dickson last week visited Boeing's facilities in the Seattle area and flew in a 737 Max simulator, ahead of Boeing handing over an official package of software changes to the planes. Both Boeing and the FAA are facing multiple investigations and intense scrutiny over how the planes were designed and certified. It is up to us as aviation regulators to deliver on this shared responsibility."