Originally Posted by
Hrkdrivr
I can't find a reference right now, but I'm pretty sure this isn't part of the FAA's charter/mission/vision any more. A long time ago they realized the conflict between promoting air commerce and regulating aviation and safety.
October 1996
A change in the FAA's mandate?
President Clinton signs the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 1996. Following public outcry over the ValuJet Flight 592 crash, lawmakers approve changes to the FAA's mission that appear to remove the agency's dual mandate of regulating safety and promoting industry development.
Timeline - The Faa And Airlines | Flying Cheap | FRONTLINE | PBS
But a closer look at the bill tells a different story. "There's a footnote in that legislation before Congress," Schiavo explains. "The footnote says: 'Although we're changing the terminology from "promote" to "encourage," we do not intend to change the way we do business. This is a change for the public consumption, and we're not changing how we work at the FAA.' It was simply a sleight of hand."