Soft Landing: Airline Industry Strategy, Service, and Safety

The (D)evolution of Aviation Security and the Birth of the TSA

“The only thing you don't know is the history you haven't learned.”

—Harry S. Truman

After World War II, as the pace of industry expansion accelerated and airliners became much more common in the sky, Congress felt it necessary to place all of the federal government's regulatory authority in the hands of a single agency. The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 transferred the regulatory functions of both the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to a new, independent agency—the Federal Aviation Agency. In addition—and this is a big one—Congress gave ...