Would the FAA have any authority over Superman (or other superheros capable of self-powered flight)?
From what I can find, the FAA"s authority is limited to flying vehicles (technically, “contrivances”), so I’d think not. However, I know the ATF has a “deadly devices” reg that covers everything not otherwise defined, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find a similar rule for the FAA.
In the DC Universe, you have a sky full of flying heroes, villains, and assorted aliens. I always figured that the Justice League, at least, would make sure that their flying members kept up their FAA certification. Since Captain Atom is Air Force, his job could be to fly check flights with the newer members to make sure that they knew the rules of the road.
If they knew it was a flying person, presumably they’d make some effort to communicate with him (such as using a signal lamp, lights, or flags when he’s near the airport) or else they’d just track him on radar and alert other pilots to his location and heading (as they would do for birds or aircraft not responding to communication).
EDIT: I just realized, you’re not actually asking about Air Traffic Controllers. Huh. That’s a good question.
This is the DCAU Justice League, of course (my favorite.)
In the real world the FAA doesn’t concern itself with flying creatures. Since Superman doesn’t require machinery to fly presumably he’s a flying critter and the FAA rules don’t apply.
But wait! We have bureaucrats! Also, unlike a bird or a bat or a bug Superman has human intelligence and speaks human languages. They might argue that as a flying person the rules should apply.
Well, if Supes is under 254 pounds he’d fall under ultralight rules, meaning no license required, but he’d be restricted in what airspace he could fly in and cruising over Metropolis would be a no-no.
Superman is pretty intelligent, I doubt he’d have any trouble with passing the private pilot requirement. He might raise a few eyebrows with the medical exam but if the FAA wanted him to get at least that level of certification I’m sure he could handle it. He shouldn’t need more than that.
But, let’s face it - it’s not like the government could stop Superman from flying. I think that as long as he’s not flying into jet intakes for the fun of it or otherwise being a menace the government would just look the other way. I could see asking that he study up on the airspace rules just to avoid unnecessary disruption to air traffic, or Superman doing that on his own.
Basically, the rules were never written with a nigh invulnerable flying humanoid in mind.
How about vehicles, like the Bat-plane and Bat-copter? And Tony Stark, is he a “vehicle” since he’s inside a machine-suit?
Wonder Woman’s invisible plane would, of course, cause problems. Does she need invisible seat belts? Invisible oxygen masks (that won’t inflate, but oxygen is still flowing)? Invisible floor lighting to point to an exit?
How ell could you track a human with radar?
Does flesh and bone reflect radar as well as metal?
Could you get a lock on the Supes to fire a missile at him?
Vehicles like the Bat-Plane would be subject to all the same regulations as any other plane. Though, granted, Batman is probably just going to ignore them anyway.
And even ordinary Earthly creatures will show up to some degree on radar (though not generally as well as metal). And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Man of Steel has a stronger radar signature than Earthly flesh and blood.
Given his reputation, I think we can assume that Superman would fly in such a way that no aircraft ever needs to concern itself with him. There would thus be no value in the FAA taking any interest in the matter.
But Broomstick is right: the FAA is nothing if not a large and successful bureaucracy, and bureaucrats love to extend their areas of influence.
Except that most airports in the US don’t have true bounce radar that powerful except for final guidance. Small/low objects are hard to find without putting a LOT of power into the signal - and often requires combining multiple signals for an accurate fix.
Those would fall under normal FAA regs. Since they’re one-offs they should probably be registered in one of the "experimental’ categories. Batman should probably have a license, but there’s that whole secret identity thing. Governments don’t like civilians keeping secrets. I can’t see Batman getting licensed without revealing who he really is to the FAA, which means he’s flying illegally.
It may be the local FSDO with jurisdiction over Gotham is looking the other way. Why they would do that I don’t know but stranger things have happened, especially in Gotham City.
Again, that would under some category of “experimental”. Since at least the movie version of Ironman isn’t keeping a secret identity that’s not an obstacle to licensing. In fact, I’d be a little surprised if Stark had not obtained a license at some point because it’s the sort of thing raging egomanic billionaires are inclined to do. Also, he’s based on the real life Howard Hughes who had a pilot’s license.
So Ironman should be fully licensed and bureaucratically legal. Except I’ve never seen an N-number on that thing, but it’s not like Stark has a lot of respect for the rules.
If you have invisible floor lighting how would you ever see it?
Also, I wonder if that plane is invisible to radar, or just human vision?
I think she’s another one flying under the radar >snerk< But she could be a licensed pilot if she’s willing to let the government know who she is.
Presumably people would show up on primary radar because birds do, but air traffic control doesn’t normally use primary radar it uses secondary radar which edits out a lot of background noise from the commercial traffic and no, people probably wouldn’t show up on that.
Sure. For all the good it will do you. Either he’ll ignore it, or he might even throw it back at you.
There used to be a round-robin fiction site called “The Winds of Change” in which, amongst many other things, ALL people gained superpowers.
In the hours after “The Change” an “incident” occurs; this prompts the FAA to require those with the power of flight to wear and activate a kind of “smart watch”…a Dick Tracy gizmo which contacts the local control tower which advises a flyer on this flightpath at that altitude in 3…2…1…NOW!!!..
…lest another dummy flies into the jet intake of a passing jetliner.:rolleyes:
Superman is a nearly-omnipotent magic space alien. If the FAA decides he falls under their jurisdiction, he can just summarily ignore them. Of course, Superman also has a reputation for being lawful stupid, but he’s clearly well beyond the point where he’s obligated to pay attention to laws.
This prompts the question of whether Superman has to file a flight plan with the authorities. If I were a bad guy, I’d find me an FAA employee and lean on him for that info.
Supes: “I have to put a registration number WHERE?”
Actually, Superman being from another planet probably wouldn’t factor into it given that the FAA’s authority is derived from the airspace being US territory, not from the pilots being US born.
According to the FAA an Ultralight is “a vehicle.” As Superman is not a vehicle he is not subject to ultralight rules. I don’t see anywhere in the FAA regulations where they would have the power to control anyone flying under their own power. They’re not even pilots.
But if we did live in a world where some human or other beings could fly under their own power I would imagine they’d pass legislation authorizing the FAA or some other agency the power to regulate that kind of thing. In truth I don’t imagine someone with Superman style flying powers would constitute a significant danger to aircraft.
Of course, since practically everything Batman does is illegal, what with the vigilantism and all, I don’t suppose it matters too much 
What does the military do when Superman violates White House air space?
They politely ask him to leave. Or they shoot at him, which probably has about the same effect.