The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) owes its creation to many important events in the history of aviation. One of these includes the creation of the Air Mail Act of 1925, which spearheaded the creation of commercial airlines operating for profit. (FAA, 2011) This law led to rapid growth in aircraft development and air traffic. The increasing volume of air traffic led to the early development of air traffic control, based on visual signals. (FAA, 2011) A real problem was that with the early days of aviation, the ability to see other planes in flight was limited and it was usually a last second visual. Another problem was that when the planes were built, there were no real safety standards required when they were built. As a result, planes were literally falling apart in the air due to development flaws. With all of these accidents, it was becoming clear that there were problems that needed to be corrected, which needed to involve the federal government. In 1926, the Air Commerce Act charged the Department of Commerce with responsibility for aviation oversight. (FAA, 2011) This meant enforcing air traffic rules, pilot licensing, and aircraft certification, to name just a few responsibilities. One of the first laws enacted by the Bureau of Air Commerce was the creation of air traffic control centers at specific airports in the Midwest and Eastern United States. This was the first real effort to locate planes in flight. They used maps and blackboards and although they had no radio communication with the planes, they communicated by telephone with dispatchers, other radio operators and other air traffic controllers to monitor their location. March 3...... middle of paper .. ....knee. His popularity was already legendary, and the accident that killed him brought more visibility to the cause of the accident than any other event. This accident, combined with the 1935 accident that killed Senator Cutting, can be traced as the two single events that brought about the creation of the FAA. These accidents influenced the creation of the CAA which evolved into the FAA that exists today. (2011). A Brief History of the FAA. Retrieved from http://www.FAA.gov/about/history/brief_history/.Lava1964. (2011). Knute Rockne plane crash. Retrieved from http://www.yourememberthat.com/media/14600/Knute_Rockne_Plane_Crash/.Mola, Roger. (2011). American Aviation Centennial Commission: Accident Investigation. Retrieved from http://centennialofflight.gov/essay/Government_Role/accident_investigation/POL17.htm