1926 Detail

May 20, 1926 - Air Commerce Act is passed, providing aid and assistance to the airline industry, plus federal oversight under the Department of Commerce for civil air safety.



Article by Jason Donovan.

For millennia human kind has longed to soar through the air with many instances dreamed up how to accomplish the endeavor. Some accomplished this from building towers and pyramids as an attempt to get closer to their gods. This longing to fly can be seen in mythology in multiple cultures throughout history. The most famous of the western world is the story of Icarus. Only in the 20th century would this dream transform into tangible results. As the new aircraft started to turn into a money making enterprise via airlines flying set routes. Just like the railroads before them, but with the airlines insistence, did the Federal government step in to set rules and procedures in order to make the then often deadly act of flying into todays safer than driving aviation industry. One of the first laws to be passed helping to start our way on the path of the safety we have today. The Air Commerce Act(ACA) was that law.

From the mythical story of Icarus saw him make wax wings and when he flew too close to the sun his wax wings melted and he fell to his death. To the many winged mythologies from around the world. Ideas flowed from the mind as seen in the drawings of aircraft within the notebooks of Leonardo DaVinci, example is a drawing of a helicopter. Four hundred years would go by till man would begin powered flights flying through the sky.

The first powered flight took place in 1903 on the Outer Banks, North Carolina when on 17 December the Wright brother's flew four flights the longest being 852 feet (260 meters) reaching an air speed of 35mph (56 kph). The brothers used the mechanical skills they developed while owning their bicycle shop Wright Cycle Co. The airplane's commercial utility was quickly realized and exploited.

The Airline Industry Develops

The first step toward the development of the U.S. airlines started with the Air Mail service. As has happened many times throughout American history the federal government used taxpayer money to help develop an industry. The air mail service which was run by the post office cut the mail time down from 5 days via train to 2 days by air. In 1925, the Contract Air Mail Act (CAMA) allowed the federal government to pay private airlines to carry mail based on a price by weight arrangement. The airlines also received public taxpayer funds to help the companies balance the losses so they had more money to develop better more efficient aircraft. An amendment to the act that reset the subsidy amounts states as follows,

"As of June 3, 1926, contractors were paid $3.00 per pound of mail for the first 1,000 miles traveled, and 30 cents per pound per additional 100 miles."("Postal Act Facts | National Postal Museum"). ($3-$54.75,$.30- $5.47)

The act also devided the country into sectors; for example Boeing covered Chicago to San Francisco while National Air Transport covered New York to Chicago, these private companies took over from the USPS on 1 July and 1 September of 1927 respectively. The only route that the post office still controlled was a route from New York To San Francisco with stops in Omaha and Chicago. At this point in time flying was a dangerous and often deadly proposition.

Flying, unlike today, was a roll of the dice and sometimes a wing and a prayer. There were no standards of safety, in aircraft, airfields, traffic laws, and lighting. In some areas airfields and landing zones were lit at night by large fires. Unlike today there were very few areas with Air Traffic Controllers (ATC). The skies were definitely fly at your own risk. The public knew this and so did the insurance companies as a whole when for example, "in 1932, a $5,000 insurance policy for an airplane trip cost two dollars, while the same policy for a railroad trip cost just 25 cents." The risk needed to come down so the industry could develop. An effort to lower the risks, the Air Commerce Act was made law in 1926.

The Air Commerce Act

The aspects covered by the legislation changed the entire landscape of the fledgling industry. The ACT set forth the six responsibilities of the Secretary of Commerce. The duties were designed to lay the groundwork for a thriving economic sector. The Commerce Department was directed to work with the Department of Agriculture to develop weather plans. Also, the Department is to be the facilitator and the handle the proliferation of research and the information needed to develop the air industry and maintain the highest level in equipment and personnel. The Act also stipulates that the Commerce Secretary is to work with any agency, particularly the Bureau of Standards, in the executive branch, in a advisory manner in order to continually update standards within the industry as new research becomes available, specifically to "create improved air navigation facilities." The Commerce Secretary is given authority to provide payment for the cost of research, for example. Another responsibility the Commerce Department had was to investigate, and provide the public with an account of the causes of civil air accidents. The Commerce Department's could also use governmental channels to connect with foreign governments in the furthering the goal of nurturing the air industry.

As the first part of the Act set out what was expected of the Commerce Department, the next section speaks of the Department's new regulatory authority. The section states how the Department starts to regulate civil air travel. First by granting aircraft registrations and setting out the perimeters of registration. Those being the aircraft owner is a citizen of the United States and the aircraft is not registered in another country's jurisdiction. Another is the aircraft must be public use. All these aircraft are considered aircraft of the United States. The following section covers the responsible for rating aircraft and also examining and rating airman.

The rating process starts with the evaluation of the aircraft and its ability to fly. Starting from the basic materials, methods of construction, and even the calculations that were used to design the aircraft. The Secretary has the choice of which reports to accept from experts and other individuals whose expertise is to be used in the coarse of aircraft certification. Aircraft are also required to undergo routine inspections in order to qualify for continued registration. These inspections are to be carried out by the Commerce Department or a "qualified private person". In order to become a qualified person a show of ability is required. Another aspect of the Department's responsibilities also included the "Examination and Rating" of facilities as well. Lastly, "Air Traffic Rules" are to be setup and maintain regulations as to the aspects of "navigation, protection, and identification of aircraft, including rules as to safe altitudes of flight and rules for the prevention of collisions between vessels and aircraft." As with other professions there are licenses and certifications that are needed for both pilots and their aircraft.

By passing this piece of legislation congress granted the Department of Commerce the ability to decide what certifications and licenses are needed to participate in air commerce. As part of the ability to grant these items the ability to suspend and or revoke said certifications and or licenses are also granted. A public hearing is also granted in the law.

A public hearing and the legal framework to hold those hearings. The requirements of the government's contact with the suspended or revoked holder. As part of the hearings the Department of Commerce is permitted to summon, subpoena and depose witnesses. After a hearing is held all reports of the hearing have to be submitted to the Secretary for a final decision. The law states that if the government does not stay within the prescribed days the decision is invalid.

Airspace regulations are set out in the next section, section four, describes the President's responsibility and the responsibility of the States. The President is permitted to, via Executive order set airspace apart for the national defense and the safety of the public. Individual states could also set aside restricted airspace, but the federal governments needs override any state restrictions. Airspace regulations mean nothing if the basic infrastructure is not in place.

The Act also ordered the Postmaster General to transfer authority over the emergency airfields, and "other navigation facilities (except airports and terminal landing fields)" to the Secretary of Commerce the Secretary of Commerce has the responsibility for building airports and terminal air fields once these projects were up and running and imbedded into the local communities responsibility for the site is to be turned over to the local government control with Presidential approval. The text continues by stating that all the monies given to the Department for the purpose of building up the groundwork so the air industries can take off while improving safety.

The second portion of this section speaks of the structure and authorizes civil airways. The law states that the authority "to establish, operate, and maintain" air corridors as long as the cost to execute the Department's task stays within the funds that congress has approved. The question of who is permitted to use the "Navigational Facilities" is answered by setting out that the the Commerce Department and/or "other independent establishment having jurisdiction thereof" decides by regulation.

The need for meteorological information is very important to the safety of aircraft and the passengers and/or freight contained therein. The first step in reaching the goal was to move the Weather Service to the Agriculture Department. First the Act sets forth that all needs of weather services must stay within the limits of the Departments budget. Moving forward the Chief of the Weather Bureau responsibility is to provide meteorological data along with any forecasts of condition and to issue any advisories, watches and or warnings based on the forecasts compiled. The Bureau's information helped grow the industry by aiding pilots and/or administrators to provide the safest air travel possible by considering current and future weather patterns over the United States's land and ocean and seas as well. The final duties laid out says that the Weather Service is specifically ... "to observe, measure, and investigate atmospheric phenomena, and establish meteorological offices and stations."

Given that by the time 1926 came around World War One had ended only eight years prior and the martial utility of aircraft that, by the end of the war, was on full display. As such, the Act basically does not impede such marshal activities and the duties of the Secretary of War to set up air corridors no matter what even, if necessary, overriding the Secretary of Commerce in order to execute their marshal orders, including the "status" of aircraft registered outside the United States.

Since the sky is wallless a section including the legal status of aircraft registered outside of United States. The sovereign airspace of United States covers the land and the territorial waters of the nation. As per the Act foreign military aircraft must receive approval of the Secretary of State in order to legally enter and fly in the airspace of the United States. Subsection B and C of this section are connected for subsection C must be met in order for an aircraft to receive an exemption concerning subsection B. Subsection B covers military aircraft and the personnel flying those aircraft. They must meet the regulations prescribed by the regulatory portion of this Act. Subsection C discusses the exception of aircraft with foreign registration. The Act also states that if foreign governments reciprocate in regards to none military aircraft would be exempt from the regulations of Section 3 limitations of subsection B, but foreign aircraft can not participate in inter or intrastate commerce and must adhere to all air traffic rules.

The next Section, Section 7 deals with the current laws of the time in relation to international air commerce. The Department of the Treasury is, as presented in subsection B, responsible for deciding where the country's "ports of entry" for non military aircraft entering the country were and are not citizens or a legal resident or for cargo being brought into the United States from a foreign origin. The Secretary of the Treasury was also responsible under the Act, if it deems necessary, the officers and employees of the United States can work in customs enforcement as long the head of the department in which the said officer or employee is stationed or the authorities of another independent establishment that said person is employed approves. These individuals designated as part of customs enforcement with all the privileges and responsibilities of enforcing the laws and regulations in regards to customs and public health. Applying the laws and regulations pertaining to the entry and clearance of vessels into ports of entry are under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Secretary. While immigration services are permitted the same leeway over officers and employees that the Treasury Department has been granted, but in terms of immigration services. Each of the Secretaries above have discretion to do the activities above when it comes to personnel needs.

The ACT addresses the responsibilities of the new additional Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the course of helping the Secretary meet the goal of building up the aviation sector by providing the funds to the Assistant Secretary in order to execute the duties assigned to him, as until FDR's Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins government was the purview of men, in the ACT. The legislation provides part of those funds to be used for expenditures for personal services and rent at the seat of government and elsewhere for law books, books of reference, and periodicals. The Assistant Secretary is to publish bulletins with information covered under this ACT pertaining to air navigation, treaties, laws, regulations, and decisions. The Act also gives the Assistant Secretary the responsibility for the funds which are to be used for aircraft and air navigation facilities except airports, as are necessary for executing the same functions as those of the Secretary of Commerce.

Penalties and Conclusions

As with a large amount of laws this ACT provides and prescribes what penalties will be imposed if the law is broken. The illegal activities include entering restricted airspace, using uncertified aircraft or violating the parameters of the certification, the same certification violations also apply to airman, or violating air traffic rules. It is also illegal for an individual to breaks the rules and stipulation of this subdivision. Failure to follow the provisions of foreign aircraft, or breaking any public health, customs, or immigration regulations can result in a fine of up to $500 ($9,100 as of 2025). The fine can be waived or the amount owed lowered if granted by the Secretary of either Commerce, Labor, or Treasury. The ACT sets out the ability for the court no matter if the case is heard in a criminal or civil court a lien on either the aircraft itself or the owner or person in command of the aircraft or both. The courts follow maritime law as the basis of the law that covers aircraft. This is except if the value of the dispute is over $20 ($364 as of 2025) and their is a dispute over the facts a jury trial can be asked for but the decision is final unless there are issues that conflict with common law. The ACT also provides for the courts under the Supreme Court to regulate were there is no prior law.

When there is a civil case if the complaint is read for the first time the relative Secretary must let the the U.S. Attorney on the case that there is a lien on the property. If a civil lien is on an aircraft the Secretary of the relative issuing Department can decide where seized aircraft are to be held. The U.S. Attorney covering the area where the aircraft was seized is also directed to start their case regarding the lien promptly. Failure to start promptly must be reported to the relative Secretary by the U.S. Attorney. If there is a lien in effect there are three ways to resolve the lien. They are as follows first the lean can be paid in full second a bond can be provided with another person, basically, a cosigner on the bond, or forfeiting the property under the lien.

The certificates and licenses listed above are to be legal. Any person forging, counterfeiting, or who falsely makes any certificate that is required above with the same rules apply to airmen who know they are and/or have used or attempt to use fraudulent certifications are in breach of the law. A fine that can not be higher than $1000 ($8,250 as of 2025) and or a period of incarceration of no more than three years or both. Certificates and licenses are only one piece of a safe flight.

Another area is a physical and/or tangible part of the system are the lights and signals set out for safe navigation. The using, moving, or damaging true lights or the use of false lights thus creating a navigational hazard to safe air travel is to be illegal. This provision is in effect no matter whether on land or water. The possible sentence is either a $5,000 fine ($91,000 as of 2025), five years incarceration, or both.

Now in the year 2025 air travel is a normal part of life for many people. The Air Commerce Act played its part as a step towards air travel becoming that part of life by laying the groundwork for the system. From the requiring of certifications and licenses helped to create a highly skilled class of pilots, and has created air traffic rules, and designated air highways. This law's effect would help lead to the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration on 23 August 1958 by President Eisenhower. With the aviation sector of the economy having revenue totaling around $223 billion as of 2022. The government's investment in the industry has defiantly paid off in buckets, so to speak.

Photo above: Montage of (left) Representative Lawrence A. Watres, sponsor of the Air Commerce Act, 1923, National Photo Company Collection; and (right) first head of the Air Commerce Department in the Department of Commerce, William Patterson McCracken, 1929, National Photo Company Collection. Both courtesy Library of Congress via Wikipedia Commons. Photo below: Example of Barnstorming Aircraft, often used for dangerous stunts and aerobatics, used in 1926 era, the Klessig Standard J-1, painted to resemble that used in the movie, "The Great Waldo Pepper," 2013. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons C.C. 3.0. Info source: FAA. "A Brief History of the FAA | Federal Aviation Administration." Faa.gov, 15 Nov. 2021; National Park Service. "1903 - the First Flight - Wright Brothers National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)." Nps.gov, 2016; "Before the Wrights Were Aviators." Airandspace.si.edu, 22 June 2022; "History of Flight - from Airmail to Airlines in the United States." Encyclopedia Britannica; "Postal Act Facts | National Postal Museum." Postalmuseum.si.edu; "Accidents Rate per Year | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives." baaa-Acro.com; "Aircraft Dispatcher History Early Accident Rates." The Aviation Vault; Air Commerce Act of 1926 Passed by Congress and Approved by the President. 1926; statista. "Total Operating Revenues of the U.S. Airline Industry 2018." Statista, 2023.

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