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The Natur e of Civil Aviation and Airports 27

Aeronautics Board, including the responsibility for investigating and
determining the probable cause of aircraft accidents, and its appellate
safety functions involving review on appeal of the suspension, modi-
fication, or denial of certificates or licenses. The name of the Federal
Aviation Agency was changed to the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). The administrator is still appointed by the President but
reports directly to the Secretary of Transportation.
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was established
by the same act which created the Department of Transportation to
determine “the cause or probable cause of transportation accidents
and reporting the facts, conditions, and circumstances relating to
such accidents” for all modes of transportation. Although created
by the act which established the DOT, the board in carrying out its
functions is “independent of the secretary and other offices and offic-
ers of the department.” The board consists of five members appointed
by the President and annually reports directly to Congress.
The creation of the DOT did not alter any legislation in the Federal
Aviation Act of 1958, with the exception of the transfer of the safety func-
tions from the Civil Aeronautics Board to the National Transportation
Safety Board. In the act of establishing the new department, however,
there was a statutory requirement to establish an Office of Noise Abate-
ment to provide policy guidance with respect to interagency activities
related to the reduction of transportation noise. With the introduction of
jet aircraft in 1958 the complaints against aircraft noise increased signifi-
cantly. As a result, in 1968 the Federal Aviation Act was amended by
Congress (Public Law 90-411) to require noise abatement regulations. Its
principal purpose was to establish noise levels which aircraft manufac-
turers cannot exceed in the development of new aircraft.

Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970
In the mid-1960s, as air traffic was expanding at a fairly rapid pace,
air traffic delays getting into and out of major airports began to
increase rapidly. Along with the delays in the air, congestion was also
taking place on the ground in parking areas, on access roads, and in
terminal buildings. It was evident that to reduce congestion substan-
tial financial resources would be required for investment in airway
and airport improvements. For airports alone it was estimated that
$13 billion in new capital improvements would be required for public
airports in the period 1970 to 1980. The amount of money authorized
by the Federal Airport Act of 1946 was insufficient to assist in financ-
ing such a vast program. The normal and anticipated sources of rev-
enue available to public airports were also not sufficient to raise the
required funds for capital expenditures. It was argued that much of
the congestion in the air at major airports was due to a lack of funds
to modernize the airways system. Funds for airport development
came from the budget of the FAA authorized by Congress each year