I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8408 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to require 

certain safety standards relating to aircraft, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, and Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to require certain safety standards relating to 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Safety management systems. 


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Sec. 3. Expert review of organization designation authorizations for transport 

airplanes. 

Sec. 4. Certification oversight staff. 

Sec. 5. Disclosure of safety-critical information. 

Sec. 6. Periodic reviews of organization designation authorizations. 

Sec. 7. Limitations on delegation. 

Sec. 8. Oversight of organization designation authorization unit members. 

Sec. 9. Integrated project teams. 

Sec. 10. Oversight integrity briefing. 

Sec. 11. Appeals of certification decisions. 

Sec. 12. Employment restrictions. 

Sec. 13. Professional development and skills enhancement. 

Sec. 14. Voluntary safety reporting program. 

Sec. 15. Compensation limitation. 

Sec. 16. System safety assessments and other requirements. 

Sec. 17. Flight crew alerting. 

Sec. 18. Amended type certificates. 

Sec. 19. Whistleblower protections. 

Sec. 20. Pilot training. 

Sec. 21. Nonconformity with approved type design. 

Sec. 22. Implementation of recommendations. 

Sec. 23. Oversight of FAA compliance program. 

Sec. 24. Settlement agreement. 

Sec. 25. Human factors. 

Sec. 26. Technical corrections. 

Sec. 27. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall ini4 tiate a rulemaking proceeding to require each person who 

5 holds both a type certificate and a production certificate 

6 issued under section 44704 of title 49, United States 

7 Code, to adopt, not later than the earlier of the date that 

8 is 180 days after the issuance of the regulation required 

9 under this subsection or the date that is 4 years after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, a safety management sys11 tem consistent with the standards and recommended prac12 tices contained in annex 19 to the Convention on Inter13 national Civil Aviation (61 Stat. 1180) in effect on the 


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1 earlier of the date of the issuance of such regulations or 

2 the date that is 4 years after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act. 

4 (b) CONTENTS OF REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

5 issued under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, include 

6 provisions for the Administrator’s approval of, and regular 

7 oversight of adherence to, a certificate holder’s safety 

8 management system adopted pursuant to such regula9 tions. 

10 (c) DEADLINE.—Not later than 12 months after the 

11 end of the comment period for the proposed rule issued 

12 pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator shall issue 

13 a final rule with respect to such proposed rule. 

14 (d) SAFETY REPORTING PROGRAM.—The regulations 

15 issued under subsection (a) shall require a safety manage16 ment system to include a confidential employee reporting 

17 system through which employees can report hazards, 

18 issues, concerns, occurrences, and incidents. A reporting 

19 system under this subsection shall include provisions for 

20 non-punitive reporting of such items by employees in a 

21 manner consistent with other confidential employee re22 porting systems administered by the Administrator. Such 

23 regulations shall also require a certificate holder described 

24 in subsection (a) to submit a summary of reports received 


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1 under this subsection to the Administrator at least twice 

2 per year. 

3 (e) CODE OF ETHICS.—The regulations issued under 

4 subsection (a) shall require a safety management system 

5 to include establishment of a code of ethics applicable to 

6 all employees of a certificate holder, including officers, 

7 which clarifies that safety is the organization’s highest pri8 ority. 

9 (f) PROTECTION OF SAFETY INFORMATION.—Section 

10 44735(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘title 5 if the report’’ and in12 serting the following: ‘‘title 5— 

13 ‘‘(1) if the report’’; 

14 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert15 ing ‘‘; or’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) if the report, data, or other information is 

18 submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration 

19 pursuant to section 2(d) of the Aircraft Certification 

20 Reform and Accountability Act.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. EXPERT REVIEW OF ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION 

22 AUTHORIZATIONS FOR TRANSPORT AIR23 PLANES. 

24 (a) EXPERT REVIEW.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator shall convene an expert panel (in this section 

4 referred to as the ‘‘review panel’’) to review and 

5 make findings and recommendations on the matters 

6 listed in paragraph (2). 

7 (2) CONTENTS OF REVIEW.—With respect to 

8 each holder of an organization designation author9 ization for the design and production of transport 

10 airplanes, the review panel shall review the following: 

11 (A) The extent to which the holder has im12 plemented a safety culture consistent with the 

13 principles of the International Civil Aviation 

14 Organization Safety Management Manual, 

15 Fourth Edition (International Civil Aviation 

16 Organization Doc. No. 9589) or any similar 

17 successor document. 

18 (B) The effectiveness of measures insti19 tuted by the holder to instill, among employees 

20 and contractors of such holder that support or21 ganization designation authorization functions, 

22 a commitment to safety above all other prior23 ities. 

24 (C) The holder’s capability, based on the 

25 holder’s organizational structures, requirements 


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1 applicable to officers and employees of such 

2 holder, and safety culture, of making reasonable 

3 and appropriate decisions regarding functions 

4 delegated to the holder pursuant to the organi5 zation designation authorization. 

6 (D) Any other matter determined by the 

7 Administrator for which inclusion in the review 

8 would be consistent with the public interest in 

9 aviation safety. 

10 (3) COMPOSITION OF REVIEW PANEL.—The re11 view panel shall consist of— 

12 (A) 2 representatives of the National Aero13 nautics and Space Administration; 

14 (B) 2 employees of the Administration’s 

15 Aircraft Certification Service with experience 

16 conducting oversight of persons not involved in 

17 the design or production of transport airplanes; 

18 (C) 1 employee of the Administration’s 

19 Aircraft Certification Service with experience 

20 conducting oversight of persons involved in the 

21 design or production of transport airplanes; 

22 (D) 2 employees of the Administration’s 

23 Flight Standards Service with experience in 

24 oversight of safety management systems; 


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1 (E) 1 appropriately qualified representa2 tive, designated by the applicable represented 

3 organization, of each of— 

4 (i) a labor union representing airline 

5 pilots involved in both passenger and all6 cargo operations; 

7 (ii) a labor union, not selected under 

8 clause (i), representing airline pilots with 

9 expertise in the matters described in para10 graph (2); 

11 (iii) a labor union representing em12 ployees engaged in the assembly of trans13 port airplanes; 

14 (iv) the certified bargaining represent15 ative under section 7111 of title 5, United 

16 States Code, for field engineers engaged in 

17 the audit or oversight of an organization 

18 designation authorization within the Air19 craft Certification Service of the Adminis20 tration; and 

21 (v) the certified bargaining represent22 ative for safety inspectors of the Adminis23 tration; 


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1 (F) 2 independent experts who have not 

2 served as a political appointee in the Adminis3 tration and— 

4 (i) who hold either a baccalaureate or 

5 postgraduate degree in the field of aero6 space engineering or a related discipline; 

7 and 

8 (ii) who have a minimum of 20 years 

9 of relevant applied experience; 

10 (G) 4 air carrier employees whose job re11 sponsibilities include administration of a safety 

12 management system; and 

13 (H) 4 individuals representing 4 different 

14 holders of organization designation authoriza15 tions, with preference given to individuals rep16 resenting holders of organization designation 

17 authorizations for the design or production of 

18 aircraft other than transport airplanes or for 

19 the design or production of aircraft engines, 

20 propellers, or appliances. 

21 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The review panel 

22 shall make recommendations to the Administrator 

23 regarding suggested actions to address any defi24 ciencies found after review of the matters listed in 

25 paragraph (2). 


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1 (5) REPORT.— 

2 (A) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 270 

3 days after the date on which the review panel 

4 is established, the review panel shall transmit to 

5 the Administrator and the congressional com6 mittees of jurisdiction a report containing the 

7 findings and recommendations of the review 

8 panel regarding the matters listed in paragraph 

9 (2), except that such report shall include— 

10 (i) only such findings endorsed by 10 

11 or more individual members of the review 

12 panel; and 

13 (ii) only such recommendations de14 scribed in paragraph (4) endorsed by 18 or 

15 more of the individual members of the re16 view panel. 

17 (B) DISSENTING VIEWS.—In submitting 

18 the report required under this paragraph, the 

19 review panel shall append to such report the 

20 dissenting views of any individual member or 

21 group of members of the review panel regarding 

22 the findings or recommendations of the review 

23 panel. 

24 (C) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 5 days 

25 after receiving the report under subparagraph 


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1 (A), the Administrator shall publish such re2 port, including any dissenting views appended 

3 to the report, on the website of the Administra4 tion. 

5 (D) TERMINATION.—The review panel 

6 shall terminate upon submission of the report 

7 under subparagraph (A). 

8 (6) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

9 (A) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The re10 view panel shall have authority to perform the 

11 following actions if a majority of the total num12 ber of review panel members consider each ac13 tion necessary and appropriate: 

14 (i) Entering onto the premises of an 

15 organization designation authorization 

16 holder described in subsection (a) for ac17 cess to and inspection of records or other 

18 purposes. 

19 (ii) Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, accessing and inspecting 

21 unredacted records in the possession of an 

22 employee or appointed political official of 

23 the Administration. 

24 (iii) Interviewing employees of such 

25 organization designation authorization 


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1 holder or the Administration as necessary 

2 for the panel to complete its work. 

3 (B) DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTER4 ESTS.—Each individual serving on the review 

5 panel shall disclose to the Administrator any fi6 nancial interest held by such individual, or a 

7 spouse or dependent of such individual, in a 

8 business enterprise engaged in the design or 

9 production of transport airplanes, aircraft en10 gines designed for transport airplanes, or major 

11 systems, components, or parts thereof. The Ad12 ministrator shall publicly post such disclosure 

13 on the website of the Administration in a de14 identified form. 

15 (C) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFOR16 MATION; TRADE SECRETS.— 

17 (i) MARKING.—The custodian of a 

18 record accessed under subparagraph (A) 

19 may mark such record as proprietary or 

20 containing a trade secret. A marking under 

21 this subparagraph shall not be dispositive 

22 with respect to whether such record con23 tains any information subject to legal pro24 tections from public disclosure. 


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1 (ii) NONDISCLOSURE FOR NON-FED2 ERAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPANTS.— 

3 (I) NON-FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

4 PARTICIPANTS.—Prior to partici5 pating on the review panel, each indi6 vidual serving on the review panel rep7 resenting a non-Federal entity, includ8 ing a labor union, shall execute an 

9 agreement with the Administrator in 

10 which the individual shall be prohib11 ited from disclosing at any time, ex12 cept as required by law, to any per13 son, foreign or domestic, any non-pub14 lic information made accessible to the 

15 panel under subparagraph (A). 

16 (II) FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PAR17 TICIPANTS.—Federal employees serv18 ing on the review panel as representa19 tives of the Federal Government and 

20 who are required to protect propri21 etary information and trade secrets 

22 under section 1905 of title 18, United 

23 States Code, shall not be required to 

24 execute agreements under this sub25 paragraph. 


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1 (iii) PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARILY

2 SUBMITTED SAFETY INFORMATION.—Infor3 mation subject to protection from disclo4 sure by the Administration in accordance 

5 with sections 40123 and 44735 of title 49, 

6 United States Code, is deemed voluntarily 

7 submitted to the Administration under 

8 such sections when shared with the review 

9 panel and retains its protection from dis10 closure (including protection under section 

11 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code). 

12 The custodian of a record subject to such 

13 protection may mark such record as sub14 ject to statutory protections. A marking 

15 under this subparagraph shall not be dis16 positive with respect to whether such 

17 record contains any information subject to 

18 legal protections from public disclosure. 

19 Members of the review panel will protect 

20 voluntarily submitted safety information 

21 and other otherwise exempt information to 

22 the extent permitted under applicable law. 

23 (iv) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY

24 INFORMATION AND TRADE SECRETS.— 

25 Members of the review panel will protect 


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1 proprietary information, trade secrets, and 

2 other otherwise exempt information to the 

3 extent permitted under applicable law. 

4 (v) RESOLVING CLASSIFICATION OF

5 INFORMATION.—If the review panel and an 

6 organization designation authorization 

7 holder subject to review under this section 

8 disagree as to the proper classification of 

9 information described in this subpara10 graph, then the deputy chief counsel of the 

11 Administration shall determine the proper 

12 classification of such information and 

13 whether such information will be redacted. 

14 (D) APPLICABLE LAW.—Public Law 92– 

15 463 shall not apply to the panel established 

16 under this subsection. 

17 (E) FINANCIAL INTEREST DEFINED.—In 

18 this paragraph, the term ‘‘financial interest’’— 

19 (i) excludes securities held in an index 

20 fund; and 

21 (ii) includes— 

22 (I) any current or contingent 

23 ownership, equity, or security interest; 

24 (II) an indebtedness or com25 pensated employment relationship; or 


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1 (III) any right to purchase or ac2 quire any such interest, including a 

3 stock option or commodity future. 

4 (b) FAA AUTHORITY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—After reviewing the findings 

6 of the review panel submitted under subsection 

7 (a)(5), the Administrator may limit, suspend, or ter8 minate an organization designation authorization 

9 subject to review under this section. 

10 (2) REINSTATEMENT.—The Administrator may 

11 condition reinstatement of a limited, suspended, or 

12 terminated organization designation authorization on 

13 the holder’s implementation of any corrective actions 

14 determined necessary by the Administrator. 

15 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

16 subsection shall be construed to limit the Adminis17 trator’s authority to take any action with respect to 

18 an organization designation authorization, including 

19 limitation, suspension, or termination of such au20 thorization. 

21 (c) ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION AUTHORIZATION

22 PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 receipt of the recommendations submitted under sub24 section (a)(5), the Administrator shall— 


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1 (1) report to the congressional committees of 

2 jurisdiction on— 

3 (A) whether the Administrator has con4 cluded that such holder is able to safely and re5 liably perform all delegated functions in accord6 ance with all applicable provisions of chapter 

7 447 of title 49, United States Code, title 14, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations, and other orders 

9 or requirements of the Administrator, and, if 

10 not, the Administrator shall outline— 

11 (i) the risk mitigations or other cor12 rective actions, including the implementa13 tion timelines of such mitigations or ac14 tions, the Administrator has established 

15 for or required of such holder as pre16 requisites for a conclusion by the Adminis17 trator under subparagraph (A); or 

18 (ii) the status of any ongoing inves19 tigatory actions; and 

20 (B) the status of implementation of each 

21 of the recommendations of the review panel, if 

22 any, with which the Administrator concurs; and 

23 (2) report to the congressional committees of 

24 jurisdiction on— 


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1 (A) the status of procedures under which 

2 the Administrator will conduct focused over3 sight of such holder’s processes for performing 

4 delegated functions with respect to the design 

5 of new and derivative transport airplanes and 

6 the production of such airplanes; and 

7 (B) the Administrator’s efforts, to the 

8 maximum extent practicable and subject to ap9 propriations, to increase the number of engi10 neers, inspectors, and other qualified technical 

11 experts, as necessary to fulfill the requirements 

12 of this section, in— 

13 (i) each office of the Administration 

14 responsible for dedicated oversight of such 

15 holder; and 

16 (ii) the System Oversight Division, or 

17 any successor division, of the Aircraft Cer18 tification Service. 

19 (d) NON-CONCURRENCE WITH RECOMMENDA20 TIONS.—Not later than 6 months after receipt of the rec21 ommendations submitted under subsection (a)(5), with re22 spect to each recommendation of the review panel with 

23 which the Administrator does not concur, if any, the Ad24 ministrator shall publish on the website of the Administra25 tion and submit to the congressional committees of jurisVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.IH H8408

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1 diction a detailed explanation as to why, including if the 

2 Administrator believes implementation of such rec3 ommendation would not improve aviation safety. 

4 SEC. 4. CERTIFICATION OVERSIGHT STAFF. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

7 $27,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 

8 to recruit and retain engineers, safety inspectors, human 

9 factors specialists, and software and cybersecurity experts 

10 and other qualified technical experts who perform duties 

11 related to the certification of aircraft, aircraft engines, 

12 propellers, and appliances. 

13 (b) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.— 

14 (1) BARGAINING UNITS.—Not later than 30 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad16 ministrator shall begin collaboration with the exclu17 sive bargaining representatives of engineers, safety 

18 inspectors, systems safety specialists, and other 

19 qualified technical experts certified under section 

20 7111 of title 5, United States Code, to improve re21 cruitment of employees for, and to implement reten22 tion incentives for employees holding, positions with 

23 respect to the certification of aircraft, aircraft en24 gines, propellers, and appliances. If the Adminis25 trator and such representatives are unable to reach 


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1 an agreement collaboratively, the Administrator and 

2 such representatives shall negotiate in accordance 

3 with section 40122(a) of title 49, United States 

4 Code, to improve recruitment and implement reten5 tion incentives for employees described in subsection 

6 (a) who are covered under a collective bargaining 

7 agreement. 

8 (2) OTHER EMPLOYEES.—Notwithstanding any 

9 other provision of law, not later than 30 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administra11 tion shall improve recruitment of, and implement re12 tention incentives for, any individual described in 

13 subsection (a) who is not covered under a collective 

14 bargaining agreement. 

15 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

16 section shall be construed to vest in any exclusive 

17 bargaining representative any management right of 

18 the Administrator, as such right existed on the day 

19 before the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (4) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Any 

21 action taken by the Administrator under this section 

22 shall be subject to the availability of appropriations 

23 authorized under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF SAFETY-CRITICAL INFORMATION. 

2 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 44704 of title 49, United 

3 States Code, is amended by striking subsection (e) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) DISCLOSURE OF SAFETY-CRITICAL INFORMA6 TION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding a delega8 tion described in section 44702(d), the Adminis9 trator shall require an applicant for, or holder of, a 

10 type certificate for a transport-category aircraft cov11 ered under part 25 of title 14, Code of Federal Reg12 ulations, to submit safety-critical information with 

13 respect to such aircraft to the Administrator in such 

14 form, manner, or time as the Administrator may re15 quire. Such safety-critical information shall in16 clude— 

17 ‘‘(A) any design and operational details, 

18 intended functions, and failure modes of any 

19 system that, without being commanded by the 

20 flight crew, commands the operation of any 

21 safety-critical function or feature required for 

22 control of an aircraft during flight or that oth23 erwise changes the flight path or airspeed of an 

24 aircraft; 

25 ‘‘(B) the design and operational details, in26 tended functions, failure modes, and mode 


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1 annunciations of autopilot and autothrottle sys2 tems, if applicable; 

3 ‘‘(C) any failure or operating condition 

4 that the applicant or holder anticipates or has 

5 concluded would result in an outcome with a se6 verity level of hazardous or catastrophic, as de7 fined in the appropriate Administration air8 worthiness requirements and guidance applica9 ble to transport-category aircraft defining risk 

10 severity; 

11 ‘‘(D) any adverse handling quality that 

12 fails to meet the requirements of applicable reg13 ulations without the addition of a software sys14 tem to augment the flight controls of the air15 craft to produce compliant handling qualities; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(E) a system safety assessment with re18 spect to a system described in subparagraph 

19 (A) or (B) or with respect to any component or 

20 other system for which failure or erroneous op21 eration of such component or system could re22 sult in an outcome with a severity level of haz23 ardous or catastrophic, as defined in the appro24 priate Administration airworthiness requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.IH H8408

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1 ments and guidance applicable to transport-cat2 egory aircraft defining risk severity. 

3 ‘‘(2) ONGOING COMMUNICATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) NEWLY DISCOVERED INFORMA5 TION.—The Administrator shall require that an 

6 applicant for, or holder of, a type certificate 

7 disclose to the Administrator, in such form, 

8 manner, or time as the Administrator may re9 quire, any newly discovered information or de10 sign or analysis change that would materially 

11 alter any submission to the Administrator 

12 under paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(B) AIRCRAFT SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

14 CHANGES.—The Administrator shall establish 

15 multiple milestones throughout the certification 

16 process at which a proposed aircraft system will 

17 be assessed to determine whether any change to 

18 such system during the certification process is 

19 such that such system should be considered 

20 novel or unusual by the Administrator. 

21 ‘‘(3) FLIGHT MANUALS.—The Administrator 

22 shall ensure that an aircraft flight manual and a 

23 flight crew operating manual (as appropriate or ap24 plicable) for an aircraft contains a description of the 

25 operation of a system described in paragraph (1)(A) 


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1 and flight crew procedures for responding to a fail2 ure or aberrant operation of such system. 

3 ‘‘(4) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding section 

5 46301, an applicant for, or holder of, a type 

6 certificate that knowingly violates paragraph 

7 (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection shall be liable 

8 to the Administrator for a civil penalty of not 

9 more than $1,000,000 for each violation. 

10 ‘‘(B) PENALTY CONSIDERATIONS.—In de11 termining the amount of a civil penalty under 

12 subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall con13 sider— 

14 ‘‘(i) the nature, circumstances, extent, 

15 and gravity of the violation, including the 

16 length of time that such safety-critical in17 formation was known but not disclosed; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) with respect to the violator, the 

20 degree of culpability, any history of prior 

21 violations, and the size of the business con22 cern. 

23 ‘‘(5) REVOCATION AND CIVIL PENALTY FOR IN24 DIVIDUALS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 shall revoke any airline transport pilot certifi3 cate issued under section 44703 held by any in4 dividual who, while acting on behalf of an appli5 cant for, or holder of, a type certificate, know6 ingly makes a false statement with respect to 

7 any of the matters described in subparagraphs 

8 (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE CIVIL PEN10 ALTY.—The Administrator may impose a civil 

11 penalty under section 46301 for each violation 

12 described in subparagraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

14 this subsection shall be construed to affect or other15 wise inhibit the authority of the Administrator to 

16 deny an application by an applicant for a type cer17 tificate or to revoke a type certificate of a holder of 

18 such certificate. 

19 ‘‘(7) DEFINITION OF TYPE CERTIFICATE.—In 

20 this subsection, the term ‘type certificate’— 

21 ‘‘(A) means a type certificate issued under 

22 subsection (a) or an amendment to such certifi23 cate; and 

24 ‘‘(B) does not include a supplemental type 

25 certificate issued under subsection (b).’’. 


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1 (b) CIVIL PENALTY AUTHORITY.—Section 44704 of 

2 title 49, United States Code, is further amended by adding 

3 at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(f) HEARING REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator 

5 may find that a person has violated subsection (a)(6) or 

6 paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (e) and impose 

7 a civil penalty under the applicable subsection only after 

8 notice and an opportunity for a hearing. The Adminis9 trator shall provide a person— 

10 ‘‘(1) written notice of the violation and the 

11 amount of penalty; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the opportunity for a hearing under sub13 part G of part 13 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu14 lations.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. PERIODIC REVIEWS OF ORGANIZATION DESIGNA16 TION AUTHORIZATIONS. 

17 Section 44736 of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub20 section (d); and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(c) PERIODIC REVIEWS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than once every 7 

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1 sive review of the capability of each ODA holder for 

2 the design of an aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, 

3 or appliance pursuant to a delegation by the Admin4 istrator under section 44702(d) to meet the require5 ments of subpart D of part 183 of title 14, Code of 

6 Federal Regulations, based on the holder’s organiza7 tional structures, requirements applicable to officers 

8 and employees, and safety culture. 

9 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REVIEW.—A comprehensive 

10 review under this subsection shall include an assess11 ment of the effectiveness of, and organization-wide 

12 adherence to, an ODA holder’s procedures manual 

13 and voluntary safety reporting system.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. LIMITATIONS ON DELEGATION. 

15 Section 44702(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

18 law, the Administrator may not delegate a matter 

19 under this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(A) with respect to the certification of the 

21 design of a novel or unusual design feature that 

22 results in a major change to a type design, ex23 cept when the Administrator determines— 

24 ‘‘(i) a matter is a routine task; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) during the course of the certifi2 cation process, that a matter no longer re3 lates to a novel or unusual design feature; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(B) on the sole basis that the Federal 

6 Aviation Administration lacks a sufficient num7 ber of personnel qualified or with the requisite 

8 expertise to perform the function.’’. 

9 SEC. 8. OVERSIGHT OF ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION AU10 THORIZATION UNIT MEMBERS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 of title 49, United 

12 States Code, as amended by this Act, is amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘§ 44741. Approval of organization designation au15 thorization unit members 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 1 

17 year after the date of enactment of the Aircraft Certifi18 cation Reform and Accountability Act, each individual who 

19 is selected on or after such date to become a member of 

20 an ODA unit by an ODA holder engaged in the design 

21 of an aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, or appliance and 

22 performs an authorized function pursuant to a delegation 

23 by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administra24 tion under section 44702(d)— 


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1 ‘‘(1) shall be an employee, a contractor, or the 

2 employee of a supplier of the ODA holder; and 

3 ‘‘(2) may not become a member of such unit 

4 unless approved by the Administrator pursuant to 

5 this section. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROCESS AND TIMELINE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

8 maintain an efficient process for the review and ap9 proval of an individual to become a member of an 

10 ODA unit under this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) PROCESS.—An ODA holder described in 

12 subsection (a) may submit to the Administrator an 

13 application for an individual to be approved to be14 come a member of an ODA unit under this section. 

15 The application shall be submitted in such form and 

16 manner as the Administrator determines appro17 priate. The Administrator shall require an ODA 

18 holder to submit with such an application informa19 tion sufficient to demonstrate an individual’s quali20 fications under subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(3) TIMELINE.—The Administrator shall ap22 prove or reject an individual that is selected by an 

23 ODA holder to become an ODA unit member under 

24 this section not later than 30 days after the receipt 

25 of an application by an ODA holder. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DOCUMENTATION OF APPROVAL.—Upon 

2 approval of an individual to become a member of an 

3 ODA unit under this section, the Administrator shall 

4 provide such individual a letter confirming that such 

5 individual has been approved by the Administrator 

6 under this section to be an ODA unit member. 

7 ‘‘(5) REAPPLICATION.—An ODA holder may 

8 submit an application under this subsection for an 

9 individual to become a member of an ODA unit 

10 under this section regardless of whether an applica11 tion for such individual was previously rejected by 

12 the Administrator. 

13 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

15 issue minimum qualifications for an individual to be16 come a member of an ODA unit under this section. 

17 In issuing such qualifications, the Administrator 

18 shall consider existing qualifications for Administra19 tion employees with similar duties and whether such 

20 individual— 

21 ‘‘(A) is technically proficient and qualified 

22 to perform the authorized functions sought; 

23 ‘‘(B) has no recent record of serious en24 forcement action, as determined by the Admin25 istrator, taken by the Administrator with reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.IH H8408

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1 spect to any certificate, approval, or authoriza2 tion held by such individual; 

3 ‘‘(C) is of good moral character (as such 

4 qualification is applied to an applicant for an 

5 airline transport pilot certificate issued under 

6 section 44703); 

7 ‘‘(D) possesses the knowledge of applicable 

8 design or production requirements in this chap9 ter and in title 14, Code of Federal Regula10 tions, necessary for performance of the author11 ized functions sought; 

12 ‘‘(E) possesses a high degree of knowledge 

13 of applicable design or production principles, 

14 system safety principles, or safety risk manage15 ment processes appropriate for the authorized 

16 functions sought; and 

17 ‘‘(F) meets such testing, examination, 

18 training, or other qualification standards as the 

19 Administrator determines are necessary to en20 sure the individual is competent and capable of 

21 performing the authorized functions sought. 

22 ‘‘(2) PREVIOUSLY REJECTED APPLICATION.—In 

23 reviewing an application for an individual to become 

24 a member of an ODA unit under this section, if an 

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1 jected, the Administrator shall ensure that the rea2 sons for the prior rejection have been resolved or 

3 mitigated to the Administrator’s satisfaction before 

4 making a determination on the individual’s re5 application. 

6 ‘‘(d) RESCISSION OF APPROVAL.—The Administrator 

7 may rescind an approval of an individual as a member of 

8 an ODA unit granted pursuant to this section at any time 

9 and for any reason the Administrator considers appro10 priate. The Administrator shall develop procedures to pro11 vide for notice and opportunity to appeal rescission deci12 sions made by the Administrator. Such decisions by the 

13 Administrator are not subject to judicial review. 

14 ‘‘(e) RECORDS AND BRIEFINGS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date de16 scribed in subsection (a), an ODA holder shall main17 tain, for a period to be determined by the Adminis18 trator and with proper protections to ensure the se19 curity of sensitive and personal information— 

20 ‘‘(A) any data, applications, records, or 

21 manuals required by the ODA holder’s ap22 proved procedures manual, as determined by 

23 the Administrator; 

24 ‘‘(B) the names, responsibilities, qualifica25 tions, and example signature of each member of 


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1 the ODA unit who performs an authorized 

2 function pursuant to a delegation by the Ad3 ministrator under section 44702(d); 

4 ‘‘(C) training records for ODA unit mem5 bers and ODA administrators; and 

6 ‘‘(D) any other data, applications, records, 

7 or manuals determined appropriate by the Ad8 ministrator. 

9 ‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—Not later 

10 than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Air11 craft Certification Reform and Accountability Act, 

12 and every 90 days thereafter through September 30, 

13 2023, the Administrator shall provide to the Com14 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

15 House of Representatives and Committee on Com16 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

17 briefing on the implementation and effects of this 

18 section, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Administration’s performance in 

20 completing reviews of individuals and approving 

21 or denying such individuals within the timeline 

22 required under subsection (b)(3); 

23 ‘‘(B) for any individual rejected by the Ad24 ministrator under subsection (b) during the 


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1 preceding 90-day period, the reasoning or basis 

2 for such rejection; and 

3 ‘‘(C) any resource, staffing, or other chal4 lenges within the Administration associated 

5 with implementation of this section. 

6 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL REVIEW OF QUALIFICATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

8 after the issuance of minimum qualifications under 

9 subsection (c), the Administrator shall initiate a re10 view of the qualifications of each individual who on 

11 the date on which such minimum qualifications are 

12 issued is a member of an ODA unit of a holder of 

13 a type certificate for a transport airplane to ensure 

14 such individual meets the minimum qualifications 

15 issued by the Administrator under subsection (c). 

16 ‘‘(2) UNQUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—For any indi17 vidual who is determined by the Administrator not 

18 to meet such minimum qualifications pursuant to 

19 the review conducted under paragraph (1), the Ad20 ministrator— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall determine whether the lack of 

22 qualification may be remedied and, if so, pro23 vide such individual with an action plan or 

24 schedule for such individual to meet such quali25 fications; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) may, if the Administrator determines 

2 the lack of qualification may not be remedied, 

3 take appropriate action, including prohibiting 

4 such individual from performing an authorized 

5 function. 

6 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) The Administrator shall complete the 

8 review required under paragraph (1) not later 

9 than 18 months after the date on which such 

10 review was initiated. 

11 ‘‘(B) If the Administrator fails to complete 

12 the review in compliance with subparagraph 

13 (A), the Secretary of Transportation shall as14 sume the responsibility for completing the re15 view. 

16 ‘‘(C) The Secretary’s completion of the re17 view under subparagraph (B)— 

18 ‘‘(i) may not be delegated to the Ad19 ministration; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) shall be completed within 120 

21 days of the date the Secretary’s assump22 tion of responsibility following the Admin23 istrator’s failure to complete the review in 

24 compliance with subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(4) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—An individual approved 

2 to become a member of an ODA unit of a holder of 

3 a type certificate for a transport airplane under sub4 section (a) shall not be subject to the review under 

5 this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION.—The Administrator may not au7 thorize an organization or ODA holder to approve an indi8 vidual selected by an ODA holder to become an ODA unit 

9 member under this section. 

10 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) GENERAL APPLICABILITY.—The defini12 tions contained in section 44736 shall apply to this 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(2) TRANSPORT AIRPLANE.—The term ‘trans15 port airplane’ means a transport-category airplane 

16 designed for operation by an air carrier or foreign 

17 air carrier type-certificated with a passenger seating 

18 capacity of 30 or more or an all-cargo or combi de19 rivative of such an airplane. 

20 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023. 


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1 ‘‘§ 44742. Interference with the duties of organization 

2 designation authorization unit members 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Fed4 eral Aviation Administration shall continuously seek to 

5 eliminate or minimize interference by an ODA holder that 

6 affects the performance of authorized functions by mem7 bers of an ODA unit. 

8 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 

10 individual who is employed by an ODA holder to 

11 commit an act of interference with an ODA unit 

12 member’s performance of authorized functions. 

13 ‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

14 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUALS.—An individual shall be 

15 subject to a civil penalty under section 

16 46301(a)(1) for each violation under paragraph 

17 (1). 

18 ‘‘(B) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this 

19 paragraph shall be construed as limiting or con20 stricting any other authority of the Adminis21 trator to pursue an enforcement action against 

22 an individual or organization for violation of ap23 plicable Federal laws or regulations of the Ad24 ministration. 

25 ‘‘(c) REPORTING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) REPORTS TO ODA HOLDER.—A member of 

2 an ODA unit shall promptly report any instances of 

3 interference experienced or witnessed by such mem4 ber to the office of the ODA holder that is des5 ignated to receive such reports. 

6 ‘‘(2) REPORTS TO THE FAA.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The ODA holder of8 fice described in paragraph (1) shall submit to 

9 the office of the Administration designated by 

10 the Administrator to accept and review such re11 ports any credible instances of interference re12 ported under paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A report to the Admin14 istration under this paragraph shall be sub15 mitted in a manner, at a time, and in a form 

16 prescribed by the Administrator. Such report 

17 shall include the results of any investigation 

18 conducted by the ODA holder in response to a 

19 report of interference, a description of any ac20 tion taken by the ODA holder as a result of the 

21 report of interference, and any other informa22 tion or potentially mitigating factors the ODA 

23 holder or the Administrator deems appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(C) USE OF REPORT.—The Administrator 

25 may use the information submitted in a report 


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1 under this paragraph, including the actions 

2 taken by an ODA holder in response to a report 

3 under paragraph (1), in determining whether to 

4 issue a civil penalty pursuant to subsection (b) 

5 or whether such civil penalty should be subject 

6 to a setoff or compromised. 

7 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

8 this subsection shall be construed to preclude a 

9 member of an ODA unit from reporting an instance 

10 of interference reported under paragraph (1) directly 

11 to the Administration. Each ODA holder shall pro12 vide notice to each member of such holder’s ODA 

13 unit stating that such individual may report an in14 stance of interference reported under paragraph (1) 

15 directly to the Administration. 

16 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) GENERAL APPLICABILITY.—The defini18 tions contained in section 44736 shall apply to this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(2) INTERFERENCE.—In this section, the term 

21 ‘interference’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) blatant or egregious statements or be23 havior, such as harassment, beratement, or 

24 threats, that a reasonable person would con25 clude was intended to improperly influence or 


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1 prejudice an ODA unit member’s performance 

2 of his or her duties; or 

3 ‘‘(B) the presence of non-ODA unit duties 

4 or activities that conflict with the performance 

5 of authorized functions by ODA unit mem6 bers.’’. 

7 (b) LATERAL COMMUNICATIONS.— 

8 (1) CONTACT WITH ADMINISTRATION.—The 

9 Administrator shall ensure that employees of the Ad10 ministration with responsibility for aircraft certifi11 cation functions may directly contact non-managerial 

12 employees of an aircraft manufacturer for consulta13 tion regarding the certification of aircraft design, 

14 production, and other matters. 

15 (2) PROHIBITION.—It shall be a violation of 

16 section 44736(a)(2)(C) of title 49, United States 

17 Code, for a manufacturer to prohibit employees from 

18 contacting any employee of the Administration or 

19 otherwise impose any condition, restriction, or pen20 alty (including by requiring prior notice to or the ap21 proval of any supervisor or manager) with respect to 

22 such contact, except that such manufacturer may in23 stitute reasonable, company-wide policies requiring 

24 documentation of communications regarding aircraft 


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1 design or production between the manufacturer’s 

2 employees and Administration employees. 

3 (c) ODA PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS.—Section 

4 44736 of title 49, United States Code, is further amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

9 the semicolon and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

10 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

11 (iii) in subparagraph (C) by striking 

12 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; 

13 (iv) by striking subparagraph (D); 

14 and 

15 (v) by redesignating subparagraph (C) 

16 as subparagraph (B); and 

17 (B) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘shall— 

18 ’’ and all that follows through the end and in19 serting ‘‘shall conduct regular oversight activi20 ties by inspecting the ODA holder’s delegated 

21 functions and taking action based on validated 

22 inspection findings.’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (b)(3)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) by striking clause (i) and redesig2 nating clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) as clauses 

3 (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively; 

4 (ii) in clause (i) as redesignated by in5 serting ‘‘, as appropriate,’’ after ‘‘require’’; 

6 (iii) in clause (ii) as redesignated by 

7 inserting ‘‘, as appropriate,’’ after ‘‘re8 quire’’; and 

9 (iv) in clause (iii) as redesignated by 

10 inserting ‘‘when appropriate,’’ before 

11 ‘‘make a reassessment’’; 

12 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); 

13 (C) in subparagraph (D) by striking the 

14 semicolon and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

15 (D) in subparagraph (E) by striking ‘‘; 

16 and’’ and inserting a period; 

17 (E) in subparagraph (F) by inserting ‘‘, 

18 when appropriate,’’ before ‘‘approve’’; and 

19 (F) by redesignating subparagraphs (C), 

20 (D), (E), and (F) as subparagraphs (B), (C), 

21 (D), and (E), respectively. 

22 (d) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.— 

23 (1) SECTION 44737.—Chapter 447 of title 49, 

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1 tion 581 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018) 

2 as section 44740. 

3 (2) ANALYSIS.—The analysis for chapter 447 of 

4 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (A) by striking the item relating to the 

6 second section 44737 (as added by section 581 

7 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018); and 

8 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

9 section 44739 the following new items: 

‘‘44740. Special rule for certain aircraft operations. 

‘‘44741. Approval of organization designation authorization unit members. 

‘‘44742. Interference with the duties of organization designation authorization 

unit members.’’. 

10 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN AIRCRAFT OP11 ERATIONS.—Section 44740 of title 49, United States 

12 Code (as redesignated by subsection (a)), is amend13 ed— 

14 (A) in the heading by striking the period 

15 at the end; 

16 (B) in subsection (a)(1) by striking ‘‘chap17 ter’’ and inserting ‘‘section’’; 

18 (C) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ 

19 the second time it appears; and 

20 (D) in subsection (c)(2) by adding a period 

21 at the end. 


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1 SEC. 9. INTEGRATED PROJECT TEAMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of an application for 

3 a type certificate for a new transport airplane, the Admin4 istrator shall convene an interdisciplinary integrated 

5 project team responsible for coordinating review of such 

6 application. 

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—In convening an interdisciplinary 

8 integrated project team under subsection (a), the Adminis9 trator shall appoint employees of the Administration with 

10 specialized expertise and experience in the fields of engi11 neering, systems design, human factors, and pilot train12 ing, including, at a minimum— 

13 (1) not less than 1 designee of the Associate 

14 Administrator for Aviation Safety whose duty sta15 tion is in the Administration’s headquarters; 

16 (2) representatives of the Aircraft Certification 

17 Service of the Administration; 

18 (3) representatives of the Flight Standards 

19 Service of the Administration; 

20 (4) experts in the fields of human factors, aero21 dynamics, flight controls, software, and systems de22 sign; and 

23 (5) any other subject matter expert whom the 

24 Administrator determines appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 10. OVERSIGHT INTEGRITY BRIEFING. 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Administrator shall brief the congressional 

4 committees of jurisdiction on specific measures the Ad5 ministrator has taken to reinforce that each employee of 

6 the Administration responsible for overseeing an organiza7 tion designation authorization with respect to the certifi8 cation of aircraft perform such responsibility in accord9 ance with safety management principles and in the public 

10 interest of aviation safety. 

11 SEC. 11. APPEALS OF CERTIFICATION DECISIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44704, of title 49, United 

13 States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION DISPUTE RESOLUTION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS AND AP17 PEALS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

19 days after the date of enactment of this sub20 section, the Administrator shall issue an order 

21 establishing— 

22 ‘‘(i) an effective, timely, and mile23 stone-based issue resolution process for 

24 type certification activities under sub25 section (a); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a process by which a decision, 

2 finding of compliance or noncompliance, or 

3 other act of the Administration, with re4 spect to compliance with design require5 ments, may be appealed by a covered per6 son directly involved with the certification 

7 activities in dispute on the basis that such 

8 decision, finding, or act is erroneous or in9 consistent with this chapter, regulations, or 

10 guidance materials promulgated by the Ad11 ministrator, or other requirements. 

12 ‘‘(B) ESCALATION.—The order issued 

13 under subparagraph (A) shall provide for— 

14 ‘‘(i) resolution of technical issues at 

15 pre-established stages of the certification 

16 process, as agreed to by the Administrator 

17 and the type certificate applicant; 

18 ‘‘(ii) automatic elevation to appro19 priate management personnel of the Ad20 ministration and the type certificate appli21 cant of any major certification process 

22 milestone that is not completed or resolved 

23 within a specific period of time agreed to 

24 by the Administrator and the type certifi25 cate applicant; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) resolution of a major certifi2 cation process milestone elevated pursuant 

3 to clause (ii) with a specific period of time 

4 agreed to by the Administrator and the 

5 type certificate applicant; 

6 ‘‘(iv) initial review by appropriate Ad7 ministration employees of any appeal de8 scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii); and 

9 ‘‘(v) subsequent review of any further 

10 appeal by appropriate management per11 sonnel of the Administration and the Asso12 ciate Administrator for Aviation Safety. 

13 ‘‘(C) DISPOSITION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) WRITTEN DECISION.—The Asso15 ciate Administrator for Aviation Safety 

16 shall issue a written decision on each ap17 peal submitted under subparagraph (A)(ii), 

18 stating the grounds for the decision of the 

19 Associate Administrator. 

20 ‘‘(ii) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not 

21 later than December 31 of each calendar 

22 year through calendar year 2025, the Ad23 ministrator shall submit to the Committee 

24 on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

25 the House of Representatives and the 


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1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

2 Transportation of the Senate a report 

3 summarizing each appeal resolved under 

4 this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(D) FINAL REVIEW.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A written decision 

7 of the Associate Administrator under sub8 paragraph (C) may be appealed to the Ad9 ministrator for a final review and deter10 mination. 

11 ‘‘(ii) DECLINE TO REVIEW.—The Ad12 ministrator may decline to review an ap13 peal initiated pursuant to clause (i). 

14 ‘‘(iii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwith15 standing any other provision of law, nei16 ther a final determination of the Adminis17 trator under clause (i) nor a decision to 

18 decline to review an appeal under clause 

19 (ii) shall be subject to judicial review. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED CONTACTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION GENERALLY.—During 

22 the course of an appeal under this subsection, 

23 no covered official may engage in an ex parte 

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1 er of, a certificate under this section in relation 

2 to such appeal unless such communication is 

3 disclosed pursuant to subparagraph (B). 

4 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE.—If, during the course 

5 of an appeal under this subsection, a covered 

6 official engages in, receives, or is otherwise 

7 made aware of an ex parte communication, the 

8 covered official shall disclose such communica9 tion in the public record at the time of the 

10 issuance of the written decision in accordance 

11 with subsection (g)(1)(C), including the time 

12 and date of the communication, subject of com13 munication, and all persons engaged in such 

14 communication. 

15 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

16 ‘‘(A) COVERED PERSON.—The term ‘cov17 ered person’ means either— 

18 ‘‘(i) an employee of the Administra19 tion whose responsibilities relate to the cer20 tification of aircraft, engines, propellers, or 

21 appliances; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) an applicant for, or holder of, a 

23 type certificate or amended type certificate 

24 issued under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COVERED OFFICIAL.—The term ‘cov2 ered official’ means the following officials: 

3 ‘‘(i) The Executive Director or any 

4 Deputy Director of the Aircraft Certifi5 cation Service. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The Deputy Executive Director 

7 for Regulatory Operations of the Aircraft 

8 Certification Service. 

9 ‘‘(iii) The Director or Deputy Director 

10 of the Compliance and Airworthiness Divi11 sion of the Aircraft Certification Service. 

12 ‘‘(iv) The Director or Deputy Director 

13 of the System Oversight Division of the 

14 Aircraft Certification Service. 

15 ‘‘(v) The Director or Deputy Director 

16 of the Policy and Innovation Division of 

17 the Aircraft Certification Service. 

18 ‘‘(vi) The Executive Director or any 

19 Deputy Executive Director of the Flight 

20 Standards Service. 

21 ‘‘(vii) The Associate Administrator or 

22 Deputy Associate Administrator for Avia23 tion Safety. 

24 ‘‘(viii) The Deputy Administrator of 

25 the Federal Aviation Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(ix) The Administrator of the Fed2 eral Aviation Administration. 

3 ‘‘(x) Any similarly situated or suc4 cessor FAA management position, as de5 termined by the Administrator. 

6 ‘‘(C) MAJOR CERTIFICATION PROCESS

7 MILESTONE.—The term ‘major certification 

8 process milestone’ means a milestone related to 

9 the type certification basis, type certification 

10 plan, type inspection authorization, issue paper, 

11 or other major type certification activity agreed 

12 to by the Administrator and the type certificate 

13 applicant. 

14 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

15 this subsection shall apply to the communication of 

16 a good-faith complaint by any individual alleging— 

17 ‘‘(A) gross misconduct; 

18 ‘‘(B) a violation of title 18; or 

19 ‘‘(C) a violation of any of the provisions of 

20 part 2635 or 6001 of title 5, Code of Federal 

21 Regulations.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 44704(a) 

23 is amended by striking paragraph (6). 


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1 SEC. 12. EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS. 

2 (a) DISQUALIFICATION BASED ON PRIOR EMPLOY3 MENT.—An employee of the Administration with super4 visory responsibility may not direct, conduct, or otherwise 

5 participate in oversight of a holder of a certificate issued 

6 under section 44704 that previously employed such em7 ployee in the preceding 1-year period. 

8 (b) POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.—Section 

9 44711(d) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(d) POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS FOR IN12 SPECTORS AND ENGINEERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A person holding a certifi14 cate issued under part 21 or 119 of title 14, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations, may not knowingly employ, 

16 or make a contractual arrangement that permits, an 

17 individual to act as an agent or representative of 

18 such person in any matter before the Administration 

19 if the individual, in the preceding 2-year period— 

20 ‘‘(A) served as, or was responsible for over21 sight of— 

22 ‘‘(i) a flight standards inspector of the 

23 Administration; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) an employee of the Administra25 tion with responsibility for certification 


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1 functions with respect to a holder of a cer2 tificate issued under section 44704(a); and 

3 ‘‘(B) had responsibility to inspect, or over4 see inspection of, the operations of such person. 

5 ‘‘(2) WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATIONS.— 

6 For purposes of paragraph (1), an individual shall 

7 be considered to be acting as an agent or representa8 tive of a certificate holder in a matter before the Ad9 ministration if the individual makes any written or 

10 oral communication on behalf of the certificate hold11 er to the Administration (or any of its officers or 

12 employees) in connection with a particular matter, 

13 whether or not involving a specific party and without 

14 regard to whether the individual has participated in, 

15 or had responsibility for, the particular matter while 

16 serving as an individual covered under paragraph 

17 (1).’’. 

18 SEC. 13. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SKILLS EN19 HANCEMENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

21 (1) develop a program for regular recurrent 

22 training of engineers, inspectors, and other subject23 matter experts employed in the Aircraft Certification 

24 Service of the Administration in accordance with the 

25 training strategy developed pursuant to section 231 


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1 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public 

2 Law 115–254; 132 Stat. 3256); and 

3 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, imple4 ment measures, including assignments in multiple 

5 divisions of the Aircraft Certification Service, to en6 sure that such engineers and other subject-matter 

7 experts in the Aircraft Certification Service have ac8 cess to diverse professional opportunities that ex9 pand their knowledge and skills. 

10 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Administrator shall, to 

11 the maximum extent practicable, ensure that actions taken 

12 pursuant to subsection (a)— 

13 (1) permit engineers, inspectors, and other sub14 ject matter experts to continue developing knowledge 

15 of, and expertise in, new and emerging technologies 

16 in systems design, flight controls, principles of avia17 tion safety, system oversight, and certification 

18 project management; 

19 (2) minimize the likelihood of an individual de20 veloping an inappropriate bias toward a designer or 

21 manufacturer of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, 

22 or appliances; 

23 (3) are consistent with any applicable collective 

24 bargaining agreements; and 


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1 (4) account for gaps in knowledge and skills be2 tween Administration employees and private-sector 

3 employees, as identified by the exclusive bargaining 

4 representatives certified under section 7111 of title 

5 5, United States Code, for each group of Adminis6 tration employees covered under this section. 

7 SEC. 14. VOLUNTARY SAFETY REPORTING PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

10 begin collaboration with the exclusive bargaining rep11 resentatives of engineers, safety inspectors, systems safety 

12 specialists, and other subject matter experts certified 

13 under section 7111 of title 5, United States Code, to im14 plement a confidential voluntary safety reporting program, 

15 in a manner that is consistent with other voluntary report16 ing programs administered by the Administrator. The pro17 gram shall include provisions addressing, at a minimum— 

18 (1) participation in all facets of the program by 

19 the exclusive bargaining representatives for employ20 ees identified in the matter preceding this para21 graph; 

22 (2) protections for frontline employees from ad23 verse employment actions related to their participa24 tion in the program; 

25 (3) identification of exclusionary criteria; and 


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1 (4) creation of a corrective action process in 

2 order to address safety issues that are identified 

3 through the program. 

4 (b) NEGOTIATIONS.—If the Administrator and the 

5 representatives described in subsection (a) are unable to 

6 reach an agreement collaboratively, the Administrator and 

7 such representatives shall negotiate in accordance with 

8 section 40122(a) of title 49, United States Code, to reach 

9 agreement on the terms and conditions of such a program. 

10 SEC. 15. COMPENSATION LIMITATION. 

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an em12 ployee of the Administration may not receive an adjust13 ment to the employee’s compensation solely on the basis 

14 of the employee’s performance in meeting or exceeding a 

15 deadline related to the completion of certification func16 tions. 

17 SEC. 16. SYSTEM SAFETY ASSESSMENTS AND OTHER RE18 QUIREMENTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

21 issue such regulations as are necessary to amend title 14, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations, and any associated advisory 

23 circular, guidance, or policy of the Administration, in ac24 cordance with this section. 


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1 (b) SYSTEM SAFETY ASSESSMENTS AND OTHER RE2 QUIREMENTS.—In developing regulations under sub3 section (a), the Administrator shall— 

4 (1) require an applicant for an amended type 

5 certificate for a transport airplane to— 

6 (A) perform a system safety assessment 

7 with respect to each proposed design change 

8 that the Administrator determines is signifi9 cant, with such assessment considering the air10 plane-level effects of individual errors, malfunc11 tions, or failures and realistic pilot response 

12 times to such errors, malfunctions, or failures 

13 related to such change; 

14 (B) update such assessment to account for 

15 each subsequent proposed design change that 

16 the Administrator determines is significant; and 

17 (C) provide appropriate employees of the 

18 Administration with the data and assumptions 

19 underlying each assessment and amended as20 sessment; and 

21 (2) work with other civil aviation authorities 

22 representing states of design to ensure such regula23 tions remain harmonized internationally. 

24 (c) FAA REVIEW.—Appropriate employees of the 

25 Aircraft Certification Service and the Flight Standards 


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1 Service of the Administration shall review each system 

2 safety assessment required under subsection (b)(1)(A), 

3 updated assessment required under subsection (b)(1)(B), 

4 and supporting data and assumptions required under sub5 section (b)(1)(C), to ensure that each such assessment 

6 sufficiently considers the matters listed under subsection 

7 (b)(1). 

8 SEC. 17. FLIGHT CREW ALERTING. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall fully 

11 implement National Transportation Safety Board rec12 ommendations A–19–11 and A–19–12 (as contained in 

13 the safety recommendation report adopted on September 

14 9, 2019). 

15 (b) PROHIBITION.—Beginning on the date that is 2 

16 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis17 trator may not issue a type certificate for a transport-cat18 egory aircraft unless— 

19 (1) in the case of a transport airplane, such air20 plane incorporates a flight crew alerting system that, 

21 at a minimum, displays and differentiates among 

22 warnings, cautions, and advisories, and includes 

23 functions to assist the flight crew in prioritizing cor24 rective actions and responding to systems failures; or 


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1 (2) in the case of a transport-category aircraft 

2 other than a transport airplane, the type certificate 

3 applicant provides a means acceptable to the Admin4 istrator to assist the flight crew in prioritizing cor5 rective actions and responding to systems failures 

6 (including by cockpit or flight manual procedures). 

7 SEC. 18. AMENDED TYPE CERTIFICATES. 

8 (a) REVIEW AND REEVALUATION OF AMENDED TYPE

9 CERTIFICATES.— 

10 (1) INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP.—The Ad11 ministrator shall exercise leadership in the creation 

12 of international policies and standards relating to 

13 the issuance of amended type certificates within the 

14 group of international civil aviation authorities 

15 known as the Certificate Management Team. 

16 (2) REEVALUATION OF AMENDED TYPE CER17 TIFICATES.—In carrying out this subsection, the Ad18 ministrator shall— 

19 (A) encourage Certificate Management 

20 Team members to examine and address any rel21 evant covered recommendations (as defined in 

22 section 22) relating to the issuance of amended 

23 type certificates; 

24 (B) reevaluate existing assumptions and 

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1 cate process and assess whether such assump2 tions and practices are valid; and 

3 (C) ensure, to the greatest extent prac4 ticable, that Federal regulations relating to the 

5 issuance of amended type certificates are har6 monized with the regulations of other inter7 national states of design. 

8 (b) AMENDED TYPE CERTIFICATE REPORT AND

9 RULEMAKING.— 

10 (1) REPORT ON CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT

11 TEAM EFFORTS.—Not later than 18 months after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

13 shall submit a report to the congressional commit14 tees of jurisdiction on the efforts by the Certificate 

15 Management Team to modify and harmonize policies 

16 and regulations relating to the issuance of amended 

17 type certificates. 

18 (2) INITIATION OF ACTION.—Not later than 2 

19 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

20 Administrator shall revise and improve the process 

21 of issuing amended type certificates in accordance 

22 with this section. Such action may include the revi23 sion of guidance, the initiating of a rulemaking, or 

24 such other action as the Administrator determines 

25 necessary to implement this section. 


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1 (3) CONTENTS.—In taking an action required 

2 under paragraph (2), the Administrator shall— 

3 (A) consider— 

4 (i) the findings and work of the Cer5 tificate Management Team and other simi6 lar international harmonization efforts; 

7 (ii) any relevant covered recommenda8 tions (as defined in section 22); and 

9 (iii) whether a fixed time beyond 

10 which a type certificate may not be amend11 ed would improve aviation safety; and 

12 (B) establish the extent to which the fol13 lowing design characteristics should preclude 

14 the issuance of an amended type certificate: 

15 (i) A new or revised flight control sys16 tem. 

17 (ii) Any substantial changes to aero18 dynamic stability resulting from a physical 

19 change that may require a new or modified 

20 software system or control law in order to 

21 produce positive and acceptable stability 

22 and handling qualities. 

23 (iii) A flight control system or aug24 mented software to maintain aerodynamic 

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1 lope that was not required for a previously 

2 certified derivative. 

3 (iv) A change in structural compo4 nents (other than a stretch or shrink of 

5 the fuselage) that results in a change in 

6 structural load paths or the magnitude of 

7 structural loads attributed to flight maneu8 vers or cabin pressurization. 

9 (v) A novel or unusual system, compo10 nent, or other feature whose failure would 

11 present a hazardous or catastrophic risk. 

12 (4) DEADLINE.—The Administrator shall final13 ize the actions initiated under paragraph (2) not 

14 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 (c) INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP.—The Adminis17 trator shall exercise leadership within the International 

18 Civil Aviation Organization and among other civil aviation 

19 regulators representing states of aircraft design to advo20 cate for the adoption of requirements equivalent to those 

21 described in this section. 

22 SEC. 19. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 

23 Section 42121 of title 49, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATION.—A holder of a 

4 certificate under section 44704 or 44705 of this title, or 

5 contractor or subcontractor of such holder, may not dis6 charge an employee or otherwise discriminate against an 

7 employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, 

8 or privileges of employment because the employee (or any 

9 person acting pursuant to a request of the employee)— 

10 ‘‘(1) provided, caused to be provided, or is 

11 about to provide (with any knowledge of the em12 ployer) or cause to be provided to the employer or 

13 Federal Government information relating to any vio14 lation or alleged violation of any order, regulation, 

15 or standard of the Federal Aviation Administration 

16 or any other provision of Federal law relating to 

17 aviation safety under this subtitle or any other law 

18 of the United States; 

19 ‘‘(2) has filed, caused to be filed, or is about to 

20 file (with any knowledge of the employer) or cause 

21 to be filed a proceeding relating to any violation or 

22 alleged violation of any order, regulation, or stand23 ard of the Federal Aviation Administration or any 

24 other provision of Federal law relating to aviation 


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1 safety under this subtitle or any other law of the 

2 United States; 

3 ‘‘(3) testified or is about to testify in such a 

4 proceeding; or 

5 ‘‘(4) assisted or participated or is about to as6 sist or participate in such a proceeding.’’; 

7 (2) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(d) NONAPPLICABILITY TO DELIBERATE VIOLA10 TIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to an 

11 employee of a holder of a certificate issued under section 

12 44704 or 44705, or a contractor or subcontractor thereof, 

13 who, acting without direction from such certificate-holder, 

14 contractor, or subcontractor (or such person’s agent), de15 liberately causes a violation of any requirement relating 

16 to aviation safety under this subtitle or any other law of 

17 the United States.’’; and 

18 (3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(e) CONTRACTOR DEFINED.—In this section, the 

21 term ‘contractor’ means— 

22 ‘‘(1) a person that performs safety-sensitive 

23 functions by contract for an air carrier or commer24 cial operator; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) a person that performs safety-sensitive 

2 functions related to the design or production of an 

3 aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, or 

4 component thereof by contract for a holder of a cer5 tificate issued under section 44704.’’. 

6 SEC. 20. PILOT TRAINING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 of title 49, United 

8 States Code, as amended by section 8, is further amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 44743. Pilot training requirements 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR’S DETERMINATION.—In 

13 establishing any pilot training requirements with re14 spect to a new transport airplane, the Administrator 

15 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall inde16 pendently review any proposal by the manufacturer 

17 of such airplane with respect to the scope, format, 

18 or minimum level of training required for operation 

19 of such airplane. 

20 ‘‘(2) ASSURANCES AND MARKETING REPRESEN21 TATIONS.—Before the Administrator has established 

22 applicable training requirements, an applicant for a 

23 new or amended type certificate for an airplane de24 scribed in paragraph (1) may not, with respect to 


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1 the scope, format, or magnitude of pilot training for 

2 such airplane— 

3 ‘‘(A) make any assurance, whether verbal 

4 or in writing, to a potential purchaser of such 

5 airplane unless a clear and conspicuous dis6 claimer (as defined by the Administrator) is in7 cluded regarding the status of training required 

8 for operation of such airplane; or 

9 ‘‘(B) provide financial incentives (including 

10 rebates) to a potential purchaser of such air11 plane regarding the scope, format, or mag12 nitude of pilot training for such airplane. 

13 ‘‘(b) PILOT RESPONSE TIME.—Beginning on the day 

14 after the date on which regulations are issued under sec15 tion 20(b)(5) of the Aircraft Certification Reform and Ac16 countability Act, the Administrator may not issue a new 

17 or amended type certificate for an airplane described in 

18 subsection (a) unless the applicant for such certificate has 

19 demonstrated to the Administrator that the applicant has 

20 accounted for realistic assumptions regarding the time for 

21 pilot responses to non-normal conditions in designing the 

22 systems and instrumentation of such airplane. Such as23 sumptions shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) be based on test data, analysis, or other 

25 technical validation methods; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) account for generally accepted scientific 

2 consensus among experts in human factors regard3 ing realistic pilot response time. 

4 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘trans5 port airplane’ means a transport-category airplane de6 signed for operation by an air carrier or foreign air carrier 

7 type-certificated with a passenger seating capacity of 30 

8 or more or an all-cargo or combi derivative of such an 

9 airplane.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

11 chapter 447 of title 49, United States Code, is further 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘44743. Pilot training requirements.’’. 

13 (c) EXPERT SAFETY REVIEW.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

16 shall initiate an expert safety review of assumptions 

17 relied upon by the Administration and manufactur18 ers of transport-category aircraft in the design and 

19 certification of such aircraft. 

20 (2) CONTENTS.—The expert safety review re21 quired under paragraph (1) shall include— 

22 (A) a review of Administration regulations, 

23 guidance, and directives related to pilot re24 sponse assumptions relied upon by the FAA 

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1 craft in the design and certification of such air2 craft; 

3 (B) a focused review of the assumptions 

4 relied on regarding the time for pilot responses 

5 to non-normal conditions in designing such air6 craft’s systems and instrumentation; 

7 (C) a review of revisions made to the air8 man certification standards for certificates over 

9 the last four years, including any possible ef10 fects on pilot competency in basic manual flying 

11 skills; 

12 (D) consideration of the global nature of 

13 the aviation marketplace, varying levels of pilot 

14 competency, and differences in pilot training 

15 programs worldwide; and 

16 (E) a process for aviation stakeholders, in17 cluding pilots, airlines, inspectors, engineers, 

18 test pilots, human factors experts, and other 

19 aviation safety experts, to provide and discuss 

20 any observations, feedback, and best practices. 

21 (3) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

22 later than 30 days after the conclusion of the expert 

23 safety review pursuant to paragraph (1), the Admin24 istrator shall submit to the congressional committees 

25 of jurisdiction a report on the results of the review, 


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1 any recommendations for actions or best practices to 

2 ensure the FAA and the manufacturers of transport3 category aircraft have accounted for pilot response 

4 assumptions to be relied upon in the design and cer5 tification of transport-category aircraft. 

6 (4) TERMINATION.—The expert safety review 

7 shall end upon submission of the report required 

8 pursuant to paragraph (3). 

9 (5) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall 

10 issue such regulations as are necessary to implement 

11 the recommendations of the expert safety review 

12 that the Administrator determines are necessary to 

13 improve aviation safety. 

14 (d) CALL TO ACTION ON AIRMAN CERTIFICATION

15 STANDARDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

18 shall initiate a call to action safety review of pilot 

19 certification standards in order to bring stakeholders 

20 together to share lessons learned, best practices, and 

21 implement actions to address any safety issues iden22 tified. 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—The call to action safety re24 view required under paragraph (1) shall include— 


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1 (A) a review of Administration regulations, 

2 guidance, and directives related to the pilot cer3 tification standards, including the oversight of 

4 those processes; 

5 (B) a review of revisions made to the pilot 

6 certification standards for certificates over the 

7 last four years, including any possible effects on 

8 pilot competency in manual flying skills and ef9 fectively managing automation to improve safe10 ty; and 

11 (C) a process for aviation stakeholders, in12 cluding aviation students, instructors, des13 ignated pilot examiners, pilots, airlines, labor, 

14 and aviation safety experts, to provide and dis15 cuss any observations, feedback, and best prac16 tices. 

17 (3) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

18 later than 90 days after the conclusion of the call to 

19 action safety review pursuant to paragraph (1), the 

20 Administrator shall submit to the congressional com21 mittees of jurisdiction a report on the results of the 

22 review, any recommendations for actions or best 

23 practices to ensure pilot competency in basic manual 

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1 tion, and actions the Administrator will take in re2 sponse to the recommendations. 

3 (e) INTERNATIONAL PILOT TRAINING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor5 tation, the Administrator, and other appropriate of6 ficials of the Government shall exercise leadership in 

7 setting global standards to improve air carrier pilot 

8 training and qualifications for— 

9 (A) monitoring and managing the behavior 

10 and performance of automated systems; 

11 (B) controlling the flightpath of aircraft 

12 without autoflight systems engaged; 

13 (C) effectively utilizing and managing 

14 autoflight systems, when appropriate; 

15 (D) effectively identifying situations in 

16 which the use of autoflight systems is appro17 priate and when such use is not appropriate; 

18 and 

19 (E) recognizing and responding appro20 priately to non-normal conditions. 

21 (2) INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP.—The Sec22 retary, the Administrator, and other appropriate of23 ficials of the Government shall exercise leadership 

24 under subsection (a) by working with— 


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1 (A) foreign counterparts of the Adminis2 trator in the International Civil Aviation Orga3 nization and its subsidiary organizations; 

4 (B) other international organizations and 

5 fora; and 

6 (C) the private sector. 

7 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In exercising leadership 

8 under paragraph (1), the Secretary, the Adminis9 trator, and other appropriate officials of the Govern10 ment shall consider— 

11 (A) the latest information relating to 

12 human factors; 

13 (B) aircraft manufacturing trends, includ14 ing those relating to increased automation in 

15 the cockpit; 

16 (C) the extent to which cockpit automation 

17 improves aviation safety and introduces novel 

18 risks; 

19 (D) the availability of opportunities for pi20 lots to practice manual flying skills; 

21 (E) the need for consistency in maintain22 ing and enhancing manual flying skills world23 wide; 


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1 (F) recommended practices of other coun2 tries that enhance manual flying skills and au3 tomation management; and 

4 (G) whether a need exists for initial and 

5 recurrent training standards for improve pilots’ 

6 proficiency in manual flight and in effective 

7 management of autoflight systems. 

8 (4) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—The Sec9 retary, the Administrator, and other appropriate of10 ficials of the Government shall provide to the con11 gressional committees of jurisdiction regular brief12 ings on the status of efforts undertaken pursuant to 

13 this section. 

14 SEC. 21. NONCONFORMITY WITH APPROVED TYPE DESIGN. 

15 Section 44704(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

16 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(6) NONCONFORMITY WITH APPROVED TYPE

18 DESIGN.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (D), a holder of a production cer21 tificate for an aircraft may not present a non22 conforming aircraft to the Administrator for 

23 issuance of an airworthiness certificate. 

24 ‘‘(B) CIVIL PENALTY.—Notwithstanding 

25 section 46301, a production certificate holder 


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1 who knowingly violates subparagraph (A) shall 

2 be liable to the Administrator for a civil penalty 

3 of not more than $1,000,000 for each noncon4 forming aircraft. 

5 ‘‘(C) PENALTY CONSIDERATIONS.—In de6 termining the amount of a civil penalty under 

7 subparagraph (B), the Administrator shall con8 sider— 

9 ‘‘(i) the nature, circumstances, extent, 

10 and gravity of the violation, including the 

11 length of time the nonconformity was 

12 known but not disclosed; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) with respect to the violator, the 

14 degree of culpability, any history of prior 

15 violations, and the size of the business con16 cern. 

17 ‘‘(D) REMEDIAL ACTION.—The Adminis18 trator may permit a production certificate hold19 er to present a nonconforming aircraft to the 

20 Administrator for an airworthiness certificate 

21 if— 

22 ‘‘(i) the Administrator determines the 

23 nonconformity, when compared to the con24 figuration approved as part of the type de25 sign, does not diminish by any degree the 


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1 aircraft’s safe operation without any 

2 change in flight crew operating procedures; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines the 

4 nonconformity was not the product of an 

5 intentional decision by the production cer6 tificate holder to alter the aircraft’s con7 figuration from the approved type design; 

8 ‘‘(iii) the production certificate holder 

9 has fully complied with subparagraph (E); 

10 ‘‘(iv) the production certificate holder 

11 agrees to correct the nonconformity on all 

12 nonconforming aircraft within a timeframe 

13 that is— 

14 ‘‘(I) prescribed by the Adminis15 trator; and 

16 ‘‘(II) commensurate with the se17 verity of the nonconformity; 

18 ‘‘(v) the production certificate holder 

19 informs a person who is to take delivery of 

20 the nonconforming aircraft of the non21 conformance prior to its delivery; and 

22 ‘‘(vi) the production certificate holder 

23 agrees not to impose any penalty, financial 

24 or otherwise, on a person that chooses to 

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1 craft until the production certificate hold2 er, to the Administrator’s satisfaction, con3 forms the aircraft to the approved type de4 sign of such aircraft. 

5 ‘‘(E) NOTIFICATION AND PROPOSED REME6 DIAL ACTION.—A production certificate holder 

7 shall, within 5 days of determining that such 

8 production certificate holder delivered a noncon9 forming aircraft, notify the Administrator, the 

10 purchaser of the airplane, and (if the purchaser 

11 is a lessor) the intended operator of the air12 plane, if known. A notification under this clause 

13 shall describe— 

14 ‘‘(i) the nonconformity in detail; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the production certificate hold16 er’s initial proposal for actions necessary 

17 to eliminate the nonconformity. 

18 ‘‘(F) NONCONFORMING AIRCRAFT DE19 FINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘noncon20 forming aircraft’ means an aircraft that does 

21 not conform to the approved type design for 

22 such aircraft type.’’. 

23 SEC. 22. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

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1 mit a report to the congressional committees of jurisdic2 tion on the status of the Administration’s implementation 

3 of covered recommendations. 

4 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub5 section (a) shall contain, at a minimum— 

6 (1) a list and description of all covered rec7 ommendations; 

8 (2) a determination of whether the Adminis9 trator concurs, concurs in part, or does not concur 

10 with each covered recommendation; 

11 (3) an implementation plan and schedule for all 

12 covered recommendations the Administrator concurs 

13 or concurs in part with; and 

14 (4) for each covered recommendation with 

15 which the Administrator does not concur (in whole 

16 or in part), a detailed explanation as to why. 

17 (c) COVERED RECOMMENDATIONS DEFINED.—In 

18 this section, the term ‘‘covered recommendations’’ means 

19 recommendations made by the following entities in any re20 view initiated in response to the accident of Lion Air flight 

21 610 on October 29, 2018, or Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 

22 on March 10, 2019, that recommend Administration ac23 tion: 

24 (1) The National Transportation Safety Board. 

25 (2) The Joint Authorities Technical Review. 


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1 (3) The inspector general of the Department of 

2 Transportation. 

3 (4) The Safety Oversight and Certification Ad4 visory Committee, or any special committee thereof. 

5 (5) Any other entity the Administrator may 

6 designate. 

7 SEC. 23. OVERSIGHT OF FAA COMPLIANCE PROGRAM. 

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

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall es10 tablish an Executive Council within the Administration to 

11 oversee the use and effectiveness across program offices 

12 of the Administration’s Compliance Program, described in 

13 Order 8000.373A dated October 31, 2018. 

14 (b) COMPLIANCE PROGRAM OVERSIGHT.—The Exec15 utive Council established under this section shall— 

16 (1) monitor, collect, and analyze data on the 

17 use of the Compliance Program across program of18 fices of the Administration, including data on en19 forcement actions and compliance actions pursued 

20 against regulated entities by such program offices; 

21 (2) conduct an evaluation of the Compliance 

22 Program, not less frequently than annually each cal23 endar year through 2023, to assess the functioning 

24 and effectiveness of such program in meeting the 

25 stated goals and purpose of the program; 


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1 (3) provide reports to the Administrator con2 taining the results of any evaluation conducted 

3 under paragraph (2), including identifying in such 

4 report any nonconformities or deficiencies in the im5 plementation of the program and compliance of reg6 ulated entities with safety standards of the Adminis7 tration; 

8 (4) make recommendations to the Adminis9 trator on regulations, guidance, performance stand10 ards or metrics, or other controls that should be 

11 issued by the Administrator to improve the effective12 ness of the Compliance Program in meeting the stat13 ed goals and purpose of the program and to ensure 

14 the highest levels of aviation safety; and 

15 (5) carry out any other oversight duties with re16 spect to implementation of the Compliance Program 

17 and assigned by the Administrator. 

18 (c) EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.— 

19 (1) EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP.—The 

20 Compliance Program Executive Council shall be 

21 comprised of representatives from each program of22 fice with regulatory responsibility as provided in 

23 Order 8000.373A. 

24 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Executive Council 

25 shall be chaired by a person, who shall be appointed 


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1 by the Administrator and shall report directly to the 

2 Administrator. 

3 (3) INDEPENDENCE.—The Secretary of Trans4 portation, the Administrator, or any officer or em5 ployee of the Administration may not prevent or pro6 hibit the chair of the Executive Council from per7 forming the activities described in this section or 

8 from reporting to Congress on such activities. 

9 (4) DURATION.—The Executive Council shall 

10 terminate on October 1, 2023. 

11 (d) ANNUAL BRIEFING.—Each calendar year 

12 through 2023, the chair of the Executive Council shall 

13 provide a briefing to the congressional committees of juris14 diction on the effectiveness of the Administration’s Com15 pliance Program in meeting the stated goals and purpose 

16 of the program and the activities of the office described 

17 in subsection (b), including any reports and recommenda18 tions made by the office during the preceding calendar 

19 year. 

20 SEC. 24. SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that the Administrator should fully exercise all 

23 rights and pursue all remedies available to the Adminis24 trator under any settlement agreement between the Ad25 ministration and the holder of a type certificate and proVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.IH H8408

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1 duction certificate for transport airplanes executed on De2 cember 18, 2015, including a demand for full payment of 

3 any applicable civil penalties deferred under such agree4 ment, if the Administrator concludes that such holder has 

5 not fully performed all obligations incurred under such 

6 agreement. 

7 (b) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 

8 February 1, 2021, and every 6 months thereafter until 

9 a certificate holder described in subsection (a) has fully 

10 performed all obligations incurred by such certificate hold11 er under such settlement agreement, the Administrator 

12 shall brief the congressional committees of jurisdiction on 

13 action taken consistent with subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 25. HUMAN FACTORS. 

15 (a) AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION PROCESS.— 

16 (1) EVALUATION.—Not later than 18 months 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis18 trator (acting through the Associate Administrator 

19 for Aviation Safety of the Administration) shall— 

20 (A) conduct an evaluation of the develop21 ment of tools and methods to support the inte22 gration of human factors assessment and sys23 tem safety assessments of human interaction 

24 with flight deck and flight control systems for 

25 transport airplanes into the aircraft certifiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.IH H8408

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1 cation process under section 44704 of title 49, 

2 United States Code; and 

3 (B) develop a framework to better inte4 grate human factors throughout such aircraft 

5 certification process with the objective of im6 proving safety by designing systems and train7 ing pilots in a manner that accounts for con8 temporary knowledge to reduce the possibility 

9 of an accident resulting in whole or in part 

10 from the pilot’s interaction with the aircraft. 

11 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 

12 days after the completion of the evaluation required 

13 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall submit 

14 to Congress a report detailing the findings of such 

15 report and a plan for implementation based on such 

16 findings of such report. 

17 (3) IMPLEMENTATION.—Upon submission of 

18 the report required under paragraph (2), the Admin19 istrator shall implement the findings of such evalua20 tion. 

21 (b) HUMAN FACTORS EDUCATION PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de23 velop a human factors education program that ad24 dresses the effects of modern flight deck systems, in25 cluding automated systems, on human performance 


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1 for transport airplanes and the approaches for better 

2 integration of human factors in aircraft design and 

3 certification. 

4 (2) TARGET AUDIENCE.—The human factors 

5 education program shall be integrated into the train6 ing protocol in existence as of the date of the enact7 ment of this Act such that such program is routinely 

8 administered to the following: 

9 (A) Appropriate employees within the 

10 Flight Standards Service. 

11 (B) Appropriate employees within the Air12 craft Certification Service. 

13 (C) Other employees or authorized rep14 resentatives determined to be necessary by the 

15 Administrator. 

16 (c) TRANSPORT AIRPLANE MANUFACTURER INFOR17 MATION SHARING.—The Administrator shall— 

18 (1) require each transport airplane manufac19 turer to provide the Administrator with the informa20 tion or findings necessary for flight crew to be 

21 trained on flight deck systems; 

22 (2) ensure the information or findings under 

23 paragraph (1) adequately includes consideration of 

24 human factors; and 


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1 (3) ensure that each transport airplane manu2 facturer identifies any technical basis, justification 

3 or rationale for the information and findings under 

4 paragraph (1). 

5 SEC. 26. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

6 Section 46301 of title 49, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A) by striking ‘‘(except 

9 sections 44717 and 44719–44723)’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘(except sections 44704(a)(6), 44704(e)(4), 44717, 

11 and 44719–44723)’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (a)(5)(A) by striking ‘‘(except 

13 sections 44717–44723)’’ and inserting ‘‘(except sec14 tions 44704(a)(6), 44704(e)(4), and 44717– 

15 44723)’’; 

16 (3) in subsection (d)(2) by striking ‘‘(except 

17 sections 44717 and 44719–44723)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘(except sections 44704(a)(6), 44704(e)(4), 44717, 

19 and 44719–44723)’’; and 

20 (4) in subsection (f)(1)(A)(i) by striking ‘‘(ex21 cept sections 44717 and 44719–44723)’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘(except sections 44704(a)(6), 44704(e)(4), 

23 44717, and 44719–44723)’’. 

24 SEC. 27. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATION; FAA.—The terms ‘‘Ad2 ministration’’ and ‘‘FAA’’ mean the Federal Avia3 tion Administration. 

4 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the FAA. 

6 (3) ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION AUTHORIZA7 TION.—The term ‘‘organization designation author8 ization’’ has the same meaning given such term in 

9 section 44736 of title 49, United States Code. 

10 (4) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES OF JURISDIC11 TION.—The term ‘‘congressional committees of juris12 diction’’ means the Committee on Transportation 

13 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

14 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

15 Transportation of the Senate. 

16 (5) HUMAN FACTORS.—The term ‘‘human fac17 tors’’ means a multidisciplinary set of principles de18 veloped to holistically explain and predict pilot be19 havior in relation to the management of the oper20 ation of an aircraft, including the pilot’s manage21 ment of aircraft systems and response to systems 

22 failures and non-normal conditions. 

23 (6) TRANSPORT AIRPLANE.—The term ‘‘trans24 port airplane’’ means a transport-category airplane 

25 designed for operation by an air carrier or foreign 


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1 air carrier type-certificated with a passenger seating 

2 capacity of 30 or more or an all-cargo or combi de3 rivative of such an airplane. 

4 (7) TYPE CERTIFICATE.—The term ‘‘type cer5 tificate’’— 

6 (A) means a type certificate issued pursu7 ant to section 44704(a) of title 49, United 

8 States Code, or an amendment to such certifi9 cate; and 

10 (B) does not include a supplemental type 

11 certificate issued under section 44704(b) of 

12 such section. 

Æ 


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