II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 615 

To improve the safety of the air supply on aircraft, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2023 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To improve the safety of the air supply on aircraft, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cabin Air Safety Act 

5 of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SAFETY OF THE AIR SUP7 PLY ON AIRCRAFT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart III of part A of subtitle 

9 VII of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following new chapter: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 454—CABIN AIR QUALITY AND 

2 SAFETY 

3 ‘‘§ 45401. Definition of Administrator 

4 ‘‘In this chapter the term ‘Administrator’ means the 

5 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. 

6 ‘‘§ 45402. Training to respond to smoke or fume inci7 dents on aircraft 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this section, the Adminis10 trator shall promulgate regulations requiring flight attend11 ants, pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, and airport 

12 first responders and emergency response teams to receive 

13 training, not less frequently than annually, on how to re14 spond to incidents on board aircraft involving smoke or 

15 fumes. 

16 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The training required by sub17 section (a) shall include the dissemination of educational 

18 materials with respect to the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Sources and types of smoke and fumes on 

20 board aircraft. 

21 ‘‘(2) Odor and visual descriptors to allow an in22 dividual to recognize the presence of engine oil and 

23 hydraulic fluid fumes and other potentially haz24 ardous fumes, such as fumes relating to engine exVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Mar 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S615.IS S615

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1 haust, ground service vehicle exhaust, fuel, de-icing 

2 fluid, electrical failures, and ozone. 

3 ‘‘(3) The potential for acute or chronic impair4 ment to an individual relating to such fumes. 

5 ‘‘(4) Procedures for recognizing and responding 

6 to smoke and fumes on board aircraft. 

7 ‘‘(5) An overview of the system for reporting in8 cidents of smoke or fumes on board aircraft estab9 lished under section 45403(a)(2). 

10 ‘‘(6) Requirements relating to reporting inci11 dents of smoke and fumes on board aircraft to the 

12 Administrator under sections 45403 and 45405(b). 

13 ‘‘§ 45403. Reporting of incidents of smoke or fumes on 

14 board aircraft 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

16 the date of the enactment of this section, the Adminis17 trator shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) develop a standardized form for flight at19 tendants, pilots, and aircraft maintenance techni20 cians to report incidents of smoke or fumes on board 

21 an aircraft operated by an air carrier; and 

22 ‘‘(2) establish a system for reporting incidents 

23 of smoke or fumes on board aircraft that allows— 

24 ‘‘(A) pilots, flight attendants, and aircraft 

25 maintenance technicians to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) submit the form developed under 

2 paragraph (1) to the Administrator and 

3 the relevant air carrier; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) receive a copy of such submission 

5 for their records; and 

6 ‘‘(B) pilots, flight attendants, aircraft 

7 maintenance technicians, the collective bar8 gaining representative of employees of the air 

9 carrier, and air carriers to search the reported 

10 incidents database compiled by the Adminis11 trator for the purposes of reviewing and moni12 toring incidents contained in the database and 

13 assisting with investigations conducted under 

14 section 45404. 

15 ‘‘(b) CONTENT OF FORMS.—The form developed 

16 under subsection (a)(1) for reporting an incident of smoke 

17 or fumes on board an aircraft shall include sections for 

18 the following information, if available at the time of the 

19 report: 

20 ‘‘(1) Identification of the flight number, the city 

21 pair, the type of aircraft, the registration number of 

22 the aircraft, and the individual reporting the inci23 dent. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Information about the presence of smoke, 

2 including a description of the nature, intensity, and 

3 visual consistency (if any). 

4 ‘‘(3) Information about the presence of fumes, 

5 including a description of the nature and intensity of 

6 the odor. 

7 ‘‘(4) Information about the location of the 

8 smoke or fumes in the aircraft. 

9 ‘‘(5) Information about the source of the smoke 

10 or fumes, including in relation to the air supply 

11 vents and electrical system. 

12 ‘‘(6) Information about the type of smoke or 

13 fumes. 

14 ‘‘(7) Information about the engine manufac15 turer, engine type, the engine serial number, and the 

16 age of the engine. 

17 ‘‘(8) Information about— 

18 ‘‘(A) the phase of flight during which 

19 smoke or fumes were present; 

20 ‘‘(B) the estimated duration of the smoke 

21 or fumes; and 

22 ‘‘(C) if the incident happened while the 

23 aircraft was on the ground, information about 

24 the air supply source at the time of the inci25 dent. 


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1 ‘‘(9) Other observations about the smoke or 

2 fumes. 

3 ‘‘(10) A description of symptoms reported by 

4 crew members and passengers and any required on5 board medical attention. 

6 ‘‘(11) Information with respect to whether crew 

7 members or passengers used, needed, or were admin8 istered supplemental or emergency oxygen. 

9 ‘‘(12) Information regarding any disruption to 

10 the operation of the flight or subsequent flights. 

11 ‘‘(13) Information about relevant maintenance 

12 work conducted on the aircraft prior to and fol13 lowing the incident. 

14 ‘‘(14) Relevant air monitoring data collected 

15 during the flight. 

16 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF SMOKE AND FUME

17 EVENT INFORMATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

19 quarterly and subject to paragraph (2), the Adminis20 trator shall compile, and make available to the pub21 lic, statistics regarding the information obtained 

22 from the forms developed under subsection (a)(1) 

23 and submitted to the Administrator. 

24 ‘‘(2) WEBSITE.—The Administrator shall de25 velop a publicly available internet website that inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Mar 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S615.IS S615

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1 cludes the aggregate data required under paragraph 

2 (1) and a searchable database for the events re3 ported to the Administrator under subsection (a)(2) 

4 that includes the following variables for each event: 

5 ‘‘(A) Date. 

6 ‘‘(B) Tail number. 

7 ‘‘(C) Aircraft type. 

8 ‘‘(D) Air carrier. 

9 ‘‘(E) Phase of flight. 

10 ‘‘(F) Location of smoke or fumes in the 

11 aircraft. 

12 ‘‘(G) Description of smoke or fumes, in13 cluding relation to air supply vents and the na14 ture and intensity of the odor. 

15 ‘‘(H) Engine or auxiliary power unit type. 

16 ‘‘(I) Engine oil or hydraulic fluid type, in17 cluding product name. 

18 ‘‘(J) Deidentified narrative. 

19 ‘‘(K) Relevant maintenance information. 

20 ‘‘(L) Such other criteria as the Adminis21 trator considers appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(3) REDACTION.—Before making either indi23 vidual event information or aggregate data available 

24 to the public under paragraph (1) or (2), the AdminVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Mar 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S615.IS S615

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1 istrator shall redact any personally identifiable infor2 mation. 

3 ‘‘§ 45404. Investigations 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of the enactment of this section, the Adminis6 trator shall promulgate regulations— 

7 ‘‘(1) authorizing the Federal Aviation Adminis8 tration to, at their discretion, conduct an investiga9 tion described in subsection (b) not less than 7 days 

10 after a report is submitted to the Administrator 

11 through the system for reporting incidents of smoke 

12 or fumes on board aircraft established under section 

13 45403(a)(2); and 

14 ‘‘(2) requiring the Federal Aviation Administra15 tion to conduct an investigation described in sub16 section (b) when the report indicates that 1 or more 

17 crew members or passengers had symptoms that re18 quired medical attention. 

19 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR INVESTIGATIONS.—An in20 vestigation described in this subsection shall include the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(1) Gathering factual and standardized infor23 mation from all flight attendants, pilots, aircraft 

24 maintenance technicians, airport first responders, 


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1 emergency response teams, and medical doctors in2 volved in the incident. 

3 ‘‘(2) Gathering any reports submitted under 

4 section 45403 with respect to the incident. 

5 ‘‘(3) Gathering technical findings on any re6 placed, worn, missing, failed, or improperly serviced 

7 components that may have resulted in the incident. 

8 ‘‘(4) Identifying the cause of the incident, if 

9 possible. 

10 ‘‘(c) PARTICIPATION OF AIR CARRIERS AND COLLEC11 TIVE BARGAINING REPRESENTATIVES.—In conducting an 

12 investigation under this section, the Federal Aviation Ad13 ministration shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) consult with the air carrier involved; 

15 ‘‘(2) work in conjunction with the technical rep16 resentatives of the air carrier; and 

17 ‘‘(3) invite the participation of the collective 

18 bargaining representative of employees of the air 

19 carrier. 

20 ‘‘§ 45405. Air quality monitoring equipment 

21 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO INCLUDE ON AIRCRAFT.— 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

23 of this section, the Administrator shall promulgate regula24 tions requiring an air carrier, after 90 days for public 


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1 comment and not later than 1 year after the regulations 

2 are finalized in the Federal Register— 

3 ‘‘(1) to install and operate onboard detectors 

4 and other air quality monitoring equipment that— 

5 ‘‘(A) are situated in the air supply system 

6 to enable pilots and maintenance technicians to 

7 identify the location of the source or sources of 

8 air supply contamination in real time, including 

9 any concentration of carbon monoxide that is 

10 dangerous to human health; 

11 ‘‘(B) continuously monitor any relevant 

12 marker compound consistent with engine oil 

13 and hydraulic fluid fume concentration in the 

14 aircraft cabin and air supply system; and 

15 ‘‘(C) alert the pilot and flight attendants 

16 to poor air quality that is dangerous to human 

17 health; and 

18 ‘‘(2) to have in place procedures to train the pi19 lots to initiate standardized communication and 

20 source isolation protocols, as soon as appropriate, 

21 with the flight attendants and air traffic controllers 

22 (as needed), and to apply their professional judge23 ment based on onboard conditions, all in response to 

24 poor air quality that is dangerous to human health. 


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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—The Ad2 ministrator may establish standards for aircraft cabin air 

3 quality, as the Administrator determines is necessary to 

4 protect the health and safety of air carrier crew members 

5 and passengers, in consultation with— 

6 ‘‘(1) the Director of the National Institute for 

7 Occupational Safety and Health of the Centers for 

8 Disease Control and Prevention; 

9 ‘‘(2) the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occu10 pational Safety and Health; and 

11 ‘‘(3) the Administrator of the Environmental 

12 Protection Agency. 

13 ‘‘(c) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO AIR

14 QUALITY MONITORING EQUIPMENT IN AIRCRAFT MANU15 ALS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact16 ment of this section, the Administrator shall promulgate 

17 regulations requiring an aircraft manufacturer that manu18 factures aircraft for air carriers to include procedures for 

19 responding to alarms from air quality monitoring equip20 ment required under subsection (a) during normal and 

21 nonstandard operations in the flight operator’s manual for 

22 each such aircraft produced by the manufacturer. 

23 ‘‘(d) CONTINUING RESEARCH TO DEVELOP SENSORS

24 AND TECHNIQUES TO MONITOR CABIN AIR QUALITY.— 

25 The Administrator shall continue to research, study, and 


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1 identify emerging technologies suitable to provide reliable 

2 warning of cabin air contamination from an aircraft bleed 

3 air system, including through investigation and research 

4 into specific sensors, methods, and operational techniques 

5 to prevent poor air quality that is dangerous to human 

6 health. 

7 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec8 tion may be construed to imply that an investigation under 

9 section 45404 is not necessary or that crew members and 

10 passengers have not been exposed to smoke or fumes if 

11 the alarm from any air quality monitoring equipment in12 stalled on an aircraft is not activated. 

13 ‘‘§ 45406. Minimum equipment list for bleed air sys14 tem 

15 ‘‘Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this section, the Administrator shall promulgate 

17 regulations requiring any manufacturer of aircraft that 

18 transports passengers or cargo to include the air quality 

19 monitoring equipment required under section 45405 in the 

20 master minimum equipment list for aircraft with a bleed 

21 air system certified under section 44704 or for which cer22 tification was delegated under section 44702(d). 


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1 ‘‘§ 45407. Authorization of appropriations 

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad3 ministrator such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

4 this chapter. 

5 ‘‘§ 45408. Exclusion of helicopters 

6 ‘‘The provisions of this chapter do not apply to heli7 copters.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con10 tents of subpart III of part A of subtitle VII of title 

11 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

12 after the item relating to chapter 453 the following: 

‘‘CHAPTER 454—CABIN AIR QUALITY AND SAFETY

‘‘45401. Definition of Administrator. 

‘‘45402. Training to respond to smoke or fume incidents on aircraft. 

‘‘45403. Reporting of incidents of smoke or fumes on board aircraft. 

‘‘45404. Investigations. 

‘‘45405. Air quality monitoring equipment. 

‘‘45406. Minimum equipment list for bleed air system. 

‘‘45407. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘45408. Exclusion of helicopters.’’. 

13 (2) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 326 of the 

14 FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 40101 

15 note) and the item relating to that section in the 

16 table of contents under section 1(b) of that Act are 

17 repealed. 

Æ 


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