>What surprises me is is the minimum weight requirement: 250 grams Why does this surprise you? If the assumption is that the FAA is altruistic organization th

>What surprises me is is the minimum weight requirement: 250 grams Why does this surprise you? If the assumption is that the FAA is altruistic organization that seeks nothing but the public benefit, I suppose I can see how this is surprising. But if we take a more realistic assumption of what the FAA is--a governmental bureaucracy full of self-interested individuals who pursue their own interests (greater authority, promotions, increased budgets, increased compensation, etc.)--it's not very surprising that they reach beyond "reasonable" restrictions and seek additional ways to benefit themselves. Also, governmental regulators have strong incentives to be incredibly risk averse. This is best exemplified by the FDA. If they approve a drug that turns out to have an unknown side effect that harms people, this result is easy to observe and likely carries significant consequences for the FDA employees involved. However, if their delay in approving a drug causes 100,000 unnecessary deaths, this result is difficult to observe and likely carries no consequences. This creates perverse incentives that push regulators towards being excessively cautious.