Whilst the ancestry of the FAA goes back to the 1920’s  the “Modern” FAA essentially started with the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. A different level of aviation safety was to be found at this time with a number of accidents driving congress to mandate a new independent regulatory body with authority to address safety issues through the power of rulemaking.

Today the FAA has a broad reach with authority for all aspects of aviation related activity in the United States.

Meanwhile over in Europe the Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) forerunner of European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) can show its origins back to the early 1970’s. 

The original purpose of the JAA was to provide oversight and guidance related to the design and certification of large Aircraft, Engines and APU’s. It was during these early days that an alignment started to take place between the FAA and the JAA to introduce common certification codes for large aircraft and aircraft engines. Such alignment contributed to the common acceptance of Aircraft Parts and Alliances by participating entities.

The Story of the Joint Airworthiness Authority (JAA)

The Airbus A300B given the go-ahead by France and Germany in 1969 smaller and lighter than its three-engine American rivals, it was 20% more fuel efficient. Hawker Siddeley (later to become part of British Aerospace designed a new wing for this aeroplane which delivered both greater lift and improved the A300’s performance. 

The JAA was established in 1970. Originally its objectives were to produce common certification codes for large aeroplanes and for engines in order to meet the needs of European industry (e.g. Airbus). Partly driven by the need for a more efficient certification process particularly for the Airbus Aircraft. The JAA was founded with the objective of a cooperative safety regulatory system to achieve uniform high standards of aviation safety. The decision to harmonize with the FAA regulatory environment was a good one and persists to this day.