I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6448 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a study to compare the effects of allowing certain aircraft certified 

under part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to operate 

under part 121 of such title, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2023 

Mr. MANN (for himself and Mr. MAGAZINER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a study to compare the effects of 

allowing certain aircraft certified under part 23 of title 

14, Code of Federal Regulations, to operate under part 

121 of such title, 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. STUDY ON SAFETY AND AIRWORTHINESS OF 

4 CERTAIN AIRCRAFT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

7 Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct a study on 

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1 the effects of allowing post-2017 aircraft to operate under 

2 part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

3 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 

4 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall consider— 

5 (1) actions that Congress may take to 

6 incentivize aircraft manufacturers to produce air7 craft that are right-sized to serve small communities; 

8 (2) recommendations of the National Transpor9 tation Safety Board contained in Safety Study 94/ 

10 02, titled ‘‘Commuter Airline Safety’’, and published 

11 by the Board in November 1994; 

12 (3) the final rule of the Federal Aviation Ad13 ministration, titled ‘‘Commuter Operations and Gen14 eral Certification and Operations Requirements’’, 

15 and published on December 20, 1995 (60 Fed. Reg. 

16 65832); and 

17 (4) the operational disadvantages that air car18 riers face due to Federal regulations compared with 

19 foreign air carriers using post-2017 aircraft. 

20 (c) COMPOSITION OF STUDY GROUP.—In conducting 

21 the study under subsection (a), the Administrator shall co22 ordinate with, and solicit comments and input from an 

23 independent study group, which shall be comprised of the 

24 following members appointed by the Administrator: 

25 (1) Representatives of the aviation industry. 

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1 (2) Representatives of small, rural, and remote 

2 communities affected by decreasing scheduled airline 

3 service, as well as communities in which subsidies 

4 are provided pursuant to subchapter II of chapter 

5 417 of title 49, United States Code. 

6 (3) Aviation safety experts with specific knowl7 edge of aircraft airworthiness requirements under 

8 part 23 and part 25 of title 14, Code of Federal 

9 Regulations. 

10 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

13 shall complete the study required under subsection 

14 (a) and submit to the Committee on Transportation 

15 and Infrastructure of the House of Representative 

16 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

17 Technology of the Senate a report on such study. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—The Administrator shall in19 clude in the report required under paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) a comparison of the safety of pre-1995 

21 aircraft with the safety of post-2017 aircraft; 

22 (B) a description of the number of pre23 1995 aircraft that are used for commercial pur24 poses as of the date of enactment of this Act; 

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1 (C) an assessment of whether air carriers 

2 operating under part 121 of title 14, Code of 

3 Federal Regulations, would purchase post-2017 

4 aircraft for commercial purposes; and 

5 (D) an assessment of the economic need of 

6 scheduled airline service of small and rural 

7 communities and the longstanding challenges of 

8 improving scheduled service to these commu9 nities. 

10 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) PRE-1995 AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘pre-1995 

12 aircraft’’ means passenger aircraft with at least 10 

13 and not more than 19 seats that were certified 

14 under part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula15 tions, before March 29, 1995, and that operate 

16 under part 121 of such title. 

17 (2) POST-2017 AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘post18 2017 aircraft’’ means passenger aircraft with at 

19 least 10 and not more than 19 seats certified under 

20 part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 

21 after August 30, 2017. 

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