FAA

American Airlines flight 1958 had 173 people on board when it departed from John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, headed to Phoenix around 7:45 a.m. Sunday.

According to the FAA, a twin-engine Beechcraft BE20 crashed after leaving from Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock around 12 p.m.

The agency's preliminary review determined it was unintentional as the contractors worked "to correct synchronization" between databases.

The Federal Aviation Administration said late Wednesday that early work traced the blackout to a "damaged database file."

Frequent flyers have often complained of shrinking legroom on flights. Now Congress has ordered the FAA to establish minimum seat widths and pitch — but that's unlikely to result in more space.

In a letter responding to a lawsuit brought by the group Flyers Rights, the Federal Aviation Administration said that current seat size is not a safety issue.

It's an idea long supported by most of the commercial airlines and the union, which say the system is inefficient under the Federal Aviation Administration.