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CIVIL AERONAUTICS ACT

CIVIL AERONAUTICS ACT. The Lea-McCarren Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 created the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). Its five members, appointed by the president, had jurisdiction over aviation and combined the authority formerly exercised by the Bureau of Commercial Aviation, the Post Office Department, and the INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. The CAA regulated passenger, freight, and mail rates and schedules, promulgated safety regulations, supervised the financial arrangements of airline companies, passed on all mergers and agreements between companies, and governed a safety board of five members, known as the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). In 1958 the CAA, the safety regulation function of the CAB, and the Airways Modernization Board were combined into the Federal Aviation Agency (Federal Aviation Administration since 1966).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Komons, Nick A. Bonfires to Beacons: Federal Civil Aviation Policy Under the Air Commerce Act, 1926–1938. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978.

Alvin F. Harlow/C. W.

See also Civil Aeronautics Board; Federal Aviation Administration.