II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2732 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to promulgate regulations to prohibit the use of certain portable electronic 

devices in the cockpit of commercial aircraft during flight and to conduct 

a study of the safety impact of distracted pilots. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 

Mr. MENENDEZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to promulgate regulations to prohibit the use 

of certain portable electronic devices in the cockpit of 

commercial aircraft during flight and to conduct a study 

of the safety impact of distracted pilots. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Focused Flying Act’’. 


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•S 2732 IS

1 SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON USE OF PORTABLE ELECTRONIC 

2 DEVICES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Flight crew members on a com4 mercial aircraft are prohibited from using any portable 

5 electronic device while in the cockpit of such aircraft dur6 ing flight except for— 

7 (1) uses that are directly related to flight oper8 ations or safety; 

9 (2) the collection of data in connection with 

10 safety; or 

11 (3) other purposes approved by the Federal 

12 Aviation Administration. 

13 (b) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘dur14 ing flight’’ means the period beginning at the time a com15 mercial aircraft leaves the gate at the airport of origin 

16 and ending at the time the aircraft arrives at the gate 

17 at the destination airport. 

18 (c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 6 months after the 

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

20 the Federal Aviation Administration, exercising the au21 thority provided under section 44701(a)(5) of title 49, 

22 United States Code, shall promulgate regulations to en23 force the restriction set forth in subsection (a). 

24 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The restriction set forth in 

25 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date on which the 

26 regulations are issued pursuant to subsection (c). 


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•S 2732 IS

1 SEC. 3. STUDY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 

3 Aviation Administration shall review relevant air carrier 

4 data and carry out a study— 

5 (1) to identify common sources of distraction 

6 for the cockpit flight crew on commercial aircraft; 

7 and 

8 (2) to determine the safety impacts of such dis9 tractions. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub12 mit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

13 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

14 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep15 resentatives that contains— 

16 (1) the findings of the study conducted under 

17 subsection (a); and 

18 (2) recommendations about ways to reduce dis19 tractions for cockpit flight crews. 

Æ 


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