[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 15, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13948-13950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6216]



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NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD

49 CFR Parts 800, 830, and 831


Reporting of Public Aircraft Accidents

AGENCY: National Transportation Safety Board.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The NTSB is proposing various revisions to its rules to 
implement P.L. No. 103-411, which expands the scope of its jurisdiction 
to include investigations of certain public aircraft accidents.

DATES: Comments are invited by April 14, 1995.

ADDRESSES: An original and 2 copies of any comments must be submitted 
to: Office of General Counsel, National Transportation Safety Board, 
490 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW., Washington, DC 20594, Attention: Public 
Aircraft Rules.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane F. Mackall, (202) 382-6540.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 25, 1994, President Clinton 
signed H.R. 2440, the Independent Safety Board Act Amendments of 1994. 
Codified as Public Law No. 103-411 (the Act), it is effective on April 
23, 1995, and directly affects aircraft operated by and for Federal, 
State and local governments. The core of the legislation is amendments 
to the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to expand the Federal Aviation 
Administration's (FAA) safety regulation to previously exempt 
``public'' aircraft, and the FAA is in the process of developing 
implementing rules and guidance. The Act, however, also changed the 
jurisdiction of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB or 
Safety Board).
    Presently, jurisdiction of the Safety Board to investigate aircraft 
accidents depends on whether the aircraft involved are ``civil'' or 
``public.'' An aircraft is either one or the other. These two terms are 
defined in the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended, 49 U.S.C. 
40102(a) (17) and (37). Until now, the Safety Board's statutory 
investigation authority extended only to civil aircraft, although 
accidents and incidents involving certain public aircraft are required 
to be reported to the NTSB within 10 days. See 49 CFR 830.20.<SUP>1

    \1\The Board has also investigated some public aircraft 
accidents under memoranda of understanding with various Federal 
agencies and State and local governments.
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    Section 3(c) of the Act expands the Safety Board's statutory role 
in investigating aircraft accidents to include all ``public'' aircraft 
other than those operated by the Armed Forces or by a United States 
intelligence agency. Thus, with these two exceptions, aircraft operated 
by Federal, State and local governments will, as of April 23, 1995, be 
subject to Board jurisdiction for the purposes of accident 
investigation in the U.S., in addition to any reporting requirements. 
We propose in this proceeding to make changes to our regulations, as 
necessary to reflect the Act.
    The key question the Safety Board must answer is: when does an 
accident ``involve'' an aircraft ``operated by'' the Armed Forces or 
``intelligence agencies'' so as to qualify for the exception to our 
public aircraft jurisdiction? As to what organizations would be 
included in the term ``Armed Forces,'' we consider the National Guard, 
and the Coast Guard, for example, to be within the definition, and 
propose to continue that practice. We construe the term ``intelligence 
agency'' strictly, and propose only to apply it to those Federal 
agencies that are so named or categorized (for example, in their 
enabling statutes).
    In defining the term ``operated by,'' there is no issue of 
interpretation when the military is flying military-owned aircraft 
(assuming only one aircraft is involved in any accident/incident). Such 
an accident would be outside our jurisdiction. But, if the aircraft is 
not actually owned and operated by the military, we have in the past 
used a ``single-flight'' test for Federal use of otherwise private 
aircraft to determine whether the aircraft is civil or public and, 
thus, determine our jurisdiction. That is, if the Navy contracted for a 
civilian aircraft to transport troops, during the aircraft's use for 
that purpose it might have been deemed a public aircraft and outside 
our mandatory jurisdiction--even though by inter-agency agreement we 
might have investigated an accident. After April 23, this matter is to 
be analyzed differently. Irrespective of the aircraft status as civil 
or public, we propose to interpret the statute as requiring that any 
such accident will be investigated by NTSB unless the aircraft was 
actually operated by Armed Forces personnel.
    The new definition of public aircraft is complex, and has generated 
considerable discussion and interpretation concerning the scope and 
application of the civil/public aircraft division for the purposes of 
FAA safety regulation. The distinction between civil and public 
aircraft (as opposed to the distinction between military and 
[[Page 13949]] public aircraft), however, is no longer critical to our 
investigation authority--under the Act we now investigate all accidents 
in the U.S. other than those involving aircraft operated by the Armed 
Forces or intelligence agencies. Although we recognize that the civil/
public distinction remains relevant to us for statistical and reporting 
purposes and in the case of jurisdiction over accidents abroad, as 
International Civil Aviation Authority agreements only apply to civil 
aircraft, we see little purpose at this point in adding ourselves to 
this debate.
    Finally, those responsible for aircraft now subject to our 
broadened investigation authority should also be aware that the Board 
may investigate occurences beyond those that involve serious injury or 
loss of an aircraft. For example, any flight control system failure or 
inflight fire is a reportable incident. Title 49 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, part 800, identifies all the instances we investigate and 
sets forth rules (at part 830) for notifying us of what are termed 
``accidents or incidents.''<SUP>2

    \2\In light of our expanded investigatory role for public 
aircraft, the reporting requirement heretofore included in 
Sec. 830.20 is superseded by the Sec. 830.5 and Sec. 830.15 rules. 
Thus, one of our proposals is to eliminate part 830 subpart E, 
Sec. 830.20.
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    Accordingly, 49 CFR parts 800, 830, and 831 are proposed to be 
amended as set forth below. We invite comments on our interpretations 
and proposed rule changes, as well as suggestions for other possible 
rule changes needed or useful to accommodate our expanded 
jurisdiction.<SUP>3

    \3\Readers may notice that various provisions subject to the 
proposals in this notice require other changes to reflect current 
organization at the Safety Board (e.g., Sec. 800.2) or recent 
legislative change (e.g., Sec. 800.3 to reflect provisions of P.L. 
No. 102-345, the FAA Civil Penalty Administrative Assessment Act of 
1992). Other rulemakings will shortly be conducted to update 
provisions, as necessary. This proceeding proposes only the changes 
needed to implement P.L. No. 103-411.
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List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 800

    Authority delegations--Government agencies, Organization and 
functions--Government agencies.

49 CFR Part 830

    Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

49 CFR Part 831

    Aviation safety, Highway safety, Investigations, Marine safety, 
Pipeline safety, Railroad safety.

PART 800--ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD AND DELEGATIONS 
OF AUTHORITY

    1. The authority citation for part 800 is proposed to be revised to 
read as follows:

    Authority: Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, as amended (49 
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.); Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (49 
U.S.C. 40101 et seq.).

    2. Section 800.3 is proposed to be amended by revising paragraph 
(a) to read as follows:


Sec. 800.3  Functions.

    (a) The primary function of the Safety Board is to promote safety 
in transportation. The Safety Board is responsible for the 
investigation, determination of facts, conditions, and circumstances 
and the cause or probable cause or causes of: all accidents involving 
civil aircraft and certain public aircraft; highway accidents including 
railroad grade-crossing accidents, the investigation of which is 
selected in cooperation with the States; railroad accidents in which 
there is a fatality, substantial property damage, or which involve a 
passenger train; pipeline accidents in which there is a fatality or 
substantial property damage; and major marine casualties and marine 
accidents involving a public and non-public vessel or involving Coast 
Guard functions. The Safety Board makes transportation safety 
recommendations to Federal, State, and local agencies and private 
organizations to reduce the likelihood of recurrence of transportation 
accidents. It initiates and conducts safety studies and special 
investigations on matters pertaining to safety in transportation, 
assesses techniques and methods of accident investigation, evaluates 
the effectiveness of transportation safety consciousness and efficacy 
in preventing accidents of other Government agencies, and evaluates the 
adequacy of safeguards and procedures concerning the transportation of 
hazardous materials.
* * * * *

PART 830--NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING OF AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS OR 
INCIDENTS AND OVERDUE AIRCRAFT, AND PRESERVATION OF AIRCRAFT 
WRECKAGE, MAIL, CARGO, AND RECORDS

    4. The authority citation for part 830 is proposed to be revised to 
read as follows:

    Authority: Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (49 U.S.C. 
40101 et seq.), and the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, as 
amended (49 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).

    4a. Section 830.1 is proposed to be amended by revising the 
introductory text and paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows:


Sec. 830.1  Applicability.

    This part contains rules pertaining to:
    (a) Initial notification and later reporting of aircraft incidents 
and accidents and certain other occurrences in the operation of 
aircraft, wherever they occur, when they involve civil aircraft of the 
United States; when they involve certain public aircraft, as specified 
in this Part, wherever they occur; and when they involve foreign civil 
aircraft where the events occur in the United States, its territories, 
or its possessions.
    (b) Preservation of aircraft wreckage, mail, cargo, and records 
involving all civil and certain public aircraft accidents, as specified 
in this Part, in the United States and its territories or possessions.
* * * * *
    5. Section 830.2 is proposed to be amended by revising the 
definition of ``public aircraft'' to read as follows:


Sec. 830.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Public aircraft means an aircraft used only for the United States 
Government, or an aircraft owned and operated (except for commercial 
purposes) or exclusively leased for at least 90 continuous days by a 
government other than the United States Government, including a State, 
the District of Columbia, a territory or possession of the United 
States, or a political subdivision of that government. ``Public 
aircraft'' does not include a government-owned aircraft transporting 
property for commercial purposes and does not include a government-
owned aircraft transporting passengers other than: Transporting (for 
other than commercial purposes) crewmembers or other persons aboard the 
aircraft whose presence is required to perform, or is associated with 
the performance of, a governmental function such as firefighting, 
search and rescue, law enforcement, aeronautical research, or 
biological or geological resource management; or transporting (for 
other than commercial purposes) persons aboard the aircraft if the 
aircraft is operated by the Armed Forces or an intelligence agency of 
the United States. Notwithstanding any limitation relating to use of 
the aircraft for commercial purposes, an aircraft shall be considered 
to be a public aircraft without regard to whether it is operated by a 
unit of [[Page 13950]] government on behalf of another unit of 
government pursuant to a cost reimbursement agreement, if the unit of 
government on whose behalf the operation is conducted certifies to the 
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration that the operation 
was necessary to respond to a significant and imminent threat to life 
or property (including natural resources) and that no service by a 
private operator was reasonably available to meet the threat.
* * * * *
    6. Section 830.5 is proposed to be amended by revising the 
introductory text to read as follows:


Sec. 830.5  Immediate notification.

    The operator of any civil aircraft, or any public aircraft not 
operated by the Armed Forces or an intelligence agency of the United 
States, or any foreign aircraft shall immediately, and by the most 
expeditious means available, notify the nearest National Transportation 
Safety Board (Board) field office\1\ when:

    \1\The Board field offices are listed under U.S. Government in 
the telephone directories of the following cities: Anchorage, AK, 
Atlanta, GA, West Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, Arlington, TX, Gardena 
(Los Angeles), CA, Miami, FL, Parsippany, NJ (metropolitan New York, 
NY), Seattle, WA, and Washington, DC.
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* * * * *
    7. Section 830.15 is proposed to be amended by revising paragraph 
(a) to read as follows:


Sec. 830.15  Reports and statements to be filed.

    (a) Reports. The operator of a civil, public (as specified in 
Sec. 830.5), or foreign aircraft shall file a report on Board Form 
6120.\1/2\ (OMB No. 3147-0001)\2\ within 10 days after an accident, or 
after 7 days if an overdue aircraft is still missing. A report on an 
incident for which immediate notification is required by Sec. 830.5(a) 
shall be filed only as requested by an authorized representative of the 
Board.

    \2\Forms are available from the Board field offices (see 
footnote 1), from Board headquarters in Washington, DC, and from the 
Federal Aviation Administration Flight Standards District Offices.
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* * * * *

Subpart E  [Removed]

    8. Subpart E of part 830 is proposed to be removed.
PART 831--ACCIDENT/INCIDENT INVESTIGATION PROCEDURES

     9. The authority citation for part 831 is proposed to be revised 
to read as follows:

    Authority: Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (49 U.S.C. 
40101 et seq.), and the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, as 
amended (49 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).

    10. Section 831.2 is proposed to be amended by revising paragraph 
(a)(1) to read as follows:


Sec. 831.2  Responsibility of Board.

    (a) Aviation. (1) The Board is responsible for the organization, 
conduct and control of all accident investigations within the United 
States, its territories and possessions, where the accident involves 
civil aircraft and certain public aircraft (as specified in Sec. 830.5 
of this chapter), including an accident investigation involving civil 
or public aircraft on the one hand and an Armed Forces or intelligence 
agency aircraft on the other hand. It is also responsible for 
investigating accidents that occur outside the United States, and which 
involve civil aircraft and certain public aircraft, when the accident 
is not in the territory of another state (i.e., in international 
waters).
* * * * *
    11. Section 831.9 is proposed to be amended to revise paragraph (b) 
to read as follows:


Sec. 831.9  Authority of Board Representatives.

* * * * *
    (b) Aviation. Any employee of the Board, upon presenting 
appropriate credentials, is authorized to examine and test to the 
extent necessary any civil or public aircraft, aircraft engine, 
propeller, appliance, or property aboard such aircraft involved in an 
accident in air commerce.
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    Issued in Washington, D.C. on this 8th day of March, 1995.
Jim Hall,
Chairman.
[FR Doc. 95-6216 Filed 3-14-95; 8:45 am]
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