Editing Federal Aviation Administration (section)

=== Background ===
The [[Air Commerce Act]] of May 20, 1926, is the cornerstone of the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]]'s regulation of civil aviation. This landmark legislation was passed at the urging of the aviation industry, whose leaders believed the airplane could not reach its full commercial potential without federal action to improve and maintain safety standards. The Act charged the [[United States Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]] with fostering air commerce, issuing and enforcing air traffic rules, [[Pilot certification in the United States|licensing pilots]], certifying aircraft, establishing airways, and operating and maintaining aids to air navigation. The newly created Aeronautics Branch, operating under the [[United States Department of Commerce|Department of Commerce]] assumed primary responsibility for aviation oversight.

In fulfilling its civil aviation responsibilities, the [[United States Department of Commerce|U.S. Department of Commerce]] initially concentrated on such functions as safety regulations and the certification of pilots and aircraft. It took over the building and operation of the nation's system of lighted airways, a task initiated by the [[United States Post Office Department|Post Office Department]]. The Department of Commerce improved aeronautical radio communications—before the founding of the [[Federal Communications Commission]] in 1934, which handles most such matters today—and introduced radio beacons as an effective aid to air navigation.

The Aeronautics Branch was renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce in 1934 to reflect its enhanced status within the Department. As commercial flying increased, the Bureau encouraged a group of airlines to establish the first three centers for providing [[air traffic control]] (ATC) along the airways. In 1936, the Bureau itself took over the centers and began to expand the ATC system. The pioneer air traffic controllers used maps, blackboards, and mental calculations to ensure the safe separation of aircraft traveling along designated routes between cities.

In 1938, the [[United States government role in civil aviation|Civil Aeronautics Act]] transferred the federal civil aviation responsibilities from the Commerce Department to a new independent agency, the [[Civil Aeronautics Board|Civil Aeronautics Authority]]. The legislation also expanded the government's role by giving the CAA the authority and the power to regulate airline fares and to determine the routes that air carriers would serve.

President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] split the authority into two agencies in 1940: the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] (CAB). CAA was responsible for ATC, airman and aircraft certification, safety enforcement, and airway development. CAB was entrusted with safety regulation, accident investigation, and economic regulation of the airlines. The CAA was part of the Department of Commerce. The CAB was an independent federal agency.

On the eve of America's entry into [[World War II]], CAA began to extend its ATC responsibilities to takeoff and landing operations at airports. This expanded role eventually became permanent after the war. The application of [[radar]] to ATC helped controllers in their drive to keep abreast of the postwar boom in commercial air transportation. In 1946, meanwhile, Congress gave CAA the added task of administering the federal-aid airport program, the first peacetime program of financial assistance aimed exclusively at development of the nation's civil airports.