CNN reports that the crew of Alitalia Flight 608 reported seeing a drone over Brooklyn on Monday. The unmanned drone came within 200 feet of the commercial jet, and a collision could have caused a major disaster.

The FAA and FBI are now both investigating the incident. The latter is asking for information on who the owner of the unmanned aircraft is, and where it came from. The agency said its main concern now “is the safety of aircraft passengers and crew.”

Drones are increasingly being used in overseas combat operations, but there’s not been many in use in the in the U.S. The most common use comes in the form of hobbyist unmanned flying machines. These machines are heavily regulated by the FAA, however, and are only allowed to fly up to 400 feet. The one that almost hit the commercial jet was flying at 1,750 feet.

This most recent incident will most likely cause more people to question the use of drones in domestic air space. Some have already expressed concerns over privacy violations related to the use of drones, but the potential for mid-air collisions may ignite more discussion on the topic.

“This is a very exciting and important milestone for all of us at American Airlines as we work to modernize our processes and best meet the needs of our people,” said John Hale, vice president of flight at American. “With this approval from the FAA, we will be able to use iPad to fully realize the benefits of our Electronic Flight Bag program, including improving the work environment for our pilots, reducing our dependency on paper products and increasing fuel efficiency on our planes. We are equipping our people with the best resources and this will allow our pilots to fly more efficiently.”

American stated that pilots will use mobile software and data from Jeppesen, which has developed an app that is FAA-approved for use throughout all stages of a flight. The app will provide up-to-date electronic information in an interface that is easier to use than paper manuals.

“We’re focused on building a new American where technology and innovation are fundamental to the company’s return to industry leadership and exceptional customer service,” said Maya Leibman, American CIO. “The Electronic Flight Bag program is just one more example of the progress we’re making to provide the tools our employees need to deliver operational improvements and leading customer experience. In fact, our Flight Attendants have also been piloting an initiative on handheld tablets, which will give them better information about the customers on their flight and their travel needs. We’ll have more to share on this and other industry-leading technologies in the weeks and months to come.”

Now that American is working to allow its flight crew to use the latest gadgets during the entire flight, does that mean that passengers might get to enjoy the same luxury? American hasn’t said, but it did announce earlier this year that it will be reevaluating its current stance on passengers using handheld electronics during flights.

The FAA will be transferring a total of 80,000 employees – 60,000 at the FAA and 20,000 associated with the Department of Transportation – to Microsoft’s cloud by way of Computer Sciences Corp., which was awarded a contract of $91 million to facilitate the transition to the cloud.

“The FAA’s mission is essential to how our nation functions, and the agency’s decision to implement Office 365 validates our approach to enterprise security, privacy and compliance in the cloud,” said Curt Kolcun, vice president of U.S. Public Sector at Microsoft Corp. He cited Microsoft’s 30-year history of collaborating with government agencies to provide technological support as one of the reasons that the FAA decided to go with the software company.

Office 365 provides an array of productivity services, such as email, instant messaging, calendars, web-conferencing tools, and other software that allows for colleagues to work together on documents. More, Office 365 allows users to access documents from any internet-connected device via Microsoft Sharepoint. In other words, FAA and DOT employees: you’ve got no excuse to miss deadlines and such anymore.

The fat contract Microsoft sealed with the FAA should provide a soothing salve to that burn the Department of the Interior left last month when it reversed its decision to use Microsoft for its cloud services and instead went for Google Apps. While that was indeed a slight to Microsoft, this FAA contract is more than double the contract that the DOI had intended for Microsoft so that’s a pleasant comeuppance to Google.

Although Microsoft announced last week its Office 365 for Government suite last week, the FAA won’t be using that service. Instead, the agency is said to be using Office 365 ITAR – as in, International Traffic in Arms Regulations – with ProofPoint Archive, Microsoft’s other offering for governments looking to adopt cloud-based technologies.

So what’s the difference between Office 365 for Governments and Office 365 ITAR? A Microsoft spokesperson explained it as such: Office 365 for Government is a multi-tenant service that segregates U.S. government customer data. Office 365 ITAR is dedicated service for larger customers that is isolated & separate from other customers in a caged environment. The latter supports FISMA requirements, complies with ITAR regulatory controls, and offers Public Trust High Background Investigations of people who manage the data.

And there you have it.

P.S. – Whew. With all the talk of FAA, planes, clouds, flight, and so on, you have no idea how hard it was not to make a load of flying/sky puns in this article. However, feel free to add your own below in the comments.

Amateur video of the event soon made its way to YouTube, as New York Times bestselling author Grant Cardone uploaded a short clip of the event. The video, which Cardone shot with his iPad from a window seat, clearly captures both the sight and sounds of the terrifying event.

Check it out below:

Now, the Federal Aviation Administration has sent Cardone a letter, scolding him for putting out his device and filming the scene during takeoff.

Of course, the FAA demands that electronic devices be turned off during portions of any flight because they could interfere with with any number of the airplane’s critical systems. That’s the message they had for Cardone. Part of the letter reads:

Your failure to comply during a critical phase of flight and an aircraft emergency could have affected the safe outcome of the flight.

They went on to say…

We have given consideration to all of the facts. In lieu of legal enforcement action (a civil penalty), we are issuing this letter which will be made a matter of record for a period of two years, after which, the record will be expunged.

“It’s ridiculous,” says Cardone. “I’ve been on thousands, literally thousands of flights. I’ve flown over 3 million miles – a million of those miles with Delta. And to think that a device, a telephone, or this iPad can take down a plane – to think that…is ridiculous.”

He also went after the FAA with this funny little jab on Twitter:

While most airlines ban the use of such devices on flights, the jury is still out on the actual correlation between cellphones and interference. Studies do exist that have asserted a correlation between the two, but causation has been tough (to say the least) to confirm. Some aviation experts have supported the rule, adopting a “better safe than sorry” reasoning.

I guess the lesson here is if you want to catch some exclusive on-flight video of a crazy aviation event, just be ready for the FAA to be a little pissed off about it.

The vast number (300) of active sites was the most surprising, but not the most telling. What was the most telling was who had the permits. There are defense agencies, defense contractors, universities, and police departments among the permit holders.

Universities

This makes sense, they do a lot of research and in turn need to be ably to use the drones for that research. From robotics to better sensor analysis, the colleges and universities do a lot of research into topics that affect the drones.

Defense Agencies

I have a very hard time with this one. What give a defense agency the right to spy on it’s citizens without probable cause? If they have a warrant or a real reason then I’m ok with it, but we all know that is not what is going on.

Defense Contractors

This is another one that I am ok with. They need to have access to the permits to fly drones because they make the drones. They need to test the things they build because they are expensive items and they are a business. This is part of the business, build drones. Can’t build them if they can’t test them afterwards.

Police Agencies

This is where I have the hardest time buying into what they are trying to sell us. To me this brings us one step closer to CCTV cameras everywhere just like in England. If they only use them for standoffs or raids I am ok with that, but we all know that once the government gets their hands on something, they continually find “justifiable” reasons to grow the program.

None of these drones are armed, and none of them are dangerous to the general public. But questions remain as to why the government would fight hard to keep these places a secret. The answer is really simple in a complex way. The EFF wants things to be open, to keep the government in check, which is actually one of the duties of the citizens as laid out by the constitution. But in doing so, they made public military targets to enemies that wish to harm us. This creates an A-Typical catch-22 situation.

According to a report from AVWeb, the FAA has roughly 1,100 iPads in the hands of employees. While employees are currently barred from using their iPads to access official FAA networks, they are permitted to use them for email, as well as for using several custom apps produced by the FAA. The iPads have proven particularly useful to mechanics and lawyers. Mechanics can use the tablets to access technical manuals and to file parts requests. Use of iPads instead of desktop computers allows them to save time and increase efficiency. Likewise, tablets allow FAA attorneys to access files and record more quickly and easily. The FAA already has its own custom apps designed to cater to the needs of each group.

In light of the usefulness of iPads for productivity and efficiency, the FAA is planning to “broadly expand” its use of tablets. The agency said that by 2014, employees will have the option to replace their laptops with iPads or Android tablets.

Apple’s iOS platform is gaining a significant amount of traction with both government agencies and private businesses. In recent months the NOAA, the ATF, and Halliburton have all made the decision to switch from RIM’s BlackBerry platform to iOS, while the NSA has designed its own hyper-secure Android smartphone.

The report was not clear on whether FAA employees would be allowed to supply their own iPad (or Android tablet) or if they would be furnished by the agency.

Having his own Howard Beale “I’m mad as hell” moment, The New York Times‘ Nick Bilton decided he’d unnecessarily purchased magazines from the airport newsstand for the last time and called the Federal Aviation Administration to “pester them” about the regulation prohibiting the use of electronic gadgetry during takeoff and landing stages of air travel. After relating studies to his interlocutor at the FAA that tablet and e-readers should be allowed to be used on planes, Bilton said that the agency told him that it is reviewing their rules regarding the use of personal electronics while onboard airplanes.

People have long been forced to swallow their frustration over the fact that no electronic devices were allowed to be used during air travel. In what seems like ages ago, I remember being told by flight attendants that I wasn’t allowed to use my Discman during a flight. It’s a slight inconvenience, for sure, but Bilton’s endearing frustration over the FAA’s rules gets right to the point:

Yes, you read that correctly. The F.A.A., which in the past has essentially said, “No, because I said so,” is going to explore testing e-readers, tablets and certain other gadgets on planes. The last time this testing was done was 2006, long before iPads and most e-readers existed. (The bad, or good, news: The F.A.A. doesn’t yet want to include the 150 million smartphones in this revision.)

Laura J. Brown, deputy assistant administrator for public affairs for the F.A.A., said that the administration’s current rules allow airlines to request use of electronic devices “once the airline demonstrated the devices would not interfere with aircraft avionics.”

[...]

As Ms. Brown said: “With the advent of new and evolving electronic technology, and because the airlines have not conducted the testing necessary to approve the use of new devices, the FAA is taking a fresh look at the use of personal electronic devices, other than cellphones, on aircraft.”

Granted, I sympathize with the argument that for owners of e-readers and tablets, buying magazines very well may feel like a waste of money given you have a perfectly suitable reading device in your carry-on. However, note that this review of regulations is still in process and nothing has really been guaranteed despite the encouraging bit of news Bilton received from the FAA so don’t expect to see those airport bookstores rolling up the doormats just yet.

Bilton, however, wants to hasten the process as much as possible:

To keep things moving, the airlines could team up and each make a single plane available for say, one day a month, until the testing is done. And the device and software makers, many with very deep pockets, could foot the bill. Any device maker who doesn’t contribute financially to the testing won’t be added to the new updated list of approved electronics devices on planes.

I would like to volunteer to help as the guinea pig for these test flights. I’ll run up and down the aisle turning on e-readers, iPads and any other devices, and then settle down for a little undisturbed reading.

Godspeed, Nick Bilton.

The first improvement we may benefit from is the appointment of an Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections. This group would advise officials on customer service improvements and monitor changes.

Also there will be mandatory timeframes for follow-up on customer complaints combined with new regulation for how the complaints are handled. A study currently underway will increase the possibility of the airlines reimbursing travelers for delayed or lost baggage.

Another item on the bill would offer discounts to military passengers and their families. If you travel with a carseat or child safety seat, the airline will be required to post the maximum dimensions prior to a flight on their website. It will also be decided shortly, if travelers with smaller musical instruments can avoid checking them and take them aboard as a carry-on.

Cell phone users will be happy to know that the new bill requires the airline to begin a study that reveals whether usage actually has an impact on airline communication and decides if cell phone use will be permitted during flights. Of course the new bill reasserts that no smoking is allowed on any flights.

Customers who do have complaints can file them with the new DOT hotline, a dedicated line right to the department from the airline.

All and all it sounds like the new bill orders that many things be studied and investigated rather than calling for immediate change. The good news is that it does cover some legitimate territory. Hopefully the friendly skies are about to become a lot more friendly.

The bill Congress approved not only finances the radar-to-GPS switch, it will also allow for unmanned drone flights in U.S. airspace within the next four years. This, of course, is assuming these flights will be of a non-military nature, because Predator drones are already in use over the United States. As for the radar-to-GPS approval, ABC News provides details:

The bill authorizes $63.4 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration over four years, including about $11 billion toward the air traffic system and its modernization. It accelerates the modernization program by setting a deadline of June 2015 for the FAA to develop new arrival procedures at the nation’s 35 busiest airports so planes can land using the more-precise GPS navigation.

If you want an example of what TRACON-strapped air traffic controllers are currently working with, you can watch the following video from AirBoyd’s YouTube channel. It’s a 38 minute play-by-play of Florida air traffic controllers talking a passenger in after the pilot passed out.

While the story itself is incredibly compelling, the video also gives you a great example of the technology that’s available to the FAA:

Instead of time-consuming, fuel-burning, stair-step descents, planes will be able to glide in more steeply with their engines idling. Planes will also be able to land and take off closer together and more frequently, even in poor weather, because pilots will know the precise location of other aircraft and obstacles on the ground. Fewer planes will be diverted.

The FAA’s goal is to have the GPS system in place in the 35 busiest airports in the U.S., and the bill’s authorization of $63.4 billion over the next four years will clearly facilitate the switch.

The last remaining hurdle for the FAA is President Obama’s signature, signing off on the program; however, considering the current President’s spotty record in relation to NASA, is there a guarantee the bill will get executive approval?

The broadest and possibly the most whimsical way in which Wolfram Alpha’s FAA data can be used is with the search query “flights overhead.” Wolfram Alpha will then provide you with information on just that – all the flights that are currently flying over you head (with a small 5-minute delay due to FAA restrictions).

If you’re on a mobile device, then it will use your location data to pinpoint exactly where you are and give you the most accurate portrait of the flights in your area. If you’re searching from a desktop, it will do its best to pin a location from your browser.

The “flights overhead” query gives you a list of all the flights that could technically be seen from your location (on a clear day of course). Not only that, but it lets you knows things like the plane’s altitude, flight angle and model as well as provides a sky map for the more visually oriented folks out there.

You can click on any of the flights listed to find out more information about them like departure time and location, destination time and location, flight capacity, flight altitude over time, and even the history of that particular plane (previous flights). Right now, the Pittsbirgh Jet Center flight 79 that’s flying over my head left from Dupage Airport in West Chicago and is en route to Charleston, South Carolina. It’s a Cessna citation CJ3 with two jet engines and is carrying anywhere from 3 to 9 people. Cool huh?

The blog post about this new feature talks about some of the more practical uses, other than just knowing about the planes flying in your vicinity. One of the cooler uses of the information is to find out exactly where you were when you took that picture from your window seat. Once your plane lands, you can plug the time of your photo, along with the flight number, date, and airline information into the engine. This will give you a pretty accurate description of what you were flying over when you snapped your mid-air shot.

Since all the info comes from the FAA, this real-time flight search will only work with planes having at least one stop in the U.S.

I guess it will always be fun to look up in the sky and imagine where a plane is headed and where it came from. You can then begin to imagine the people on that plane, and their lives, and why they are headed to wherever they are going. It’s a daydreamy type of activity, but one that tons of people have done, I assure you.

Now, if you want, you can know for certain where those sky ships are headed.