Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013

To ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration advances the safety of small airplanes, and the continued development of the general aviation industry, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) A healthy small aircraft industry is integral to economic growth and to maintaining an effective transportation infrastructure for communities and nations around the world. (2) Small aircraft comprise nearly 90 percent of FAA type certified general aviation aircraft. (3) General aviation provides for the cultivation of a workforce of engineers, manufacturing and maintenance professionals, and pilots, who secure the Nation’s economic success and defense. (4) General aviation contributes to well-paying manufacturing and technology jobs in the United States, and these products are exported in great numbers, providing a positive trade balance. (5) Technology developed and proven in general aviation aids in the success and safety of all sectors of aviation and scientific competence. (6) The average small airplane in the United States is now 40 years old and the regulatory barriers to bringing new designs to market are resulting in a lack of innovation and investment in small airplane design. (7) Over the past decade, the United States has typically lost 10,000 active private pilots per year, partially due to a lack of cost-effective, new small airplanes. (8) General aviation safety can be improved by modernizing and revamping the regulations for this sector to clear the path for technology adoption and cost-effective means to retrofit the existing fleet with new safety technologies. 3. FAA safety and regulatory improvements for general aviation (a) Establishment of FAA safety and regulatory improvements for general aviation The Administrator shall advance the safety and continued development of small airplanes by reorganizing the certification requirements applicable to small airplanes to streamline the approval of safety advancements. (b) Regulations The Administrator shall issue a final rule based on the FAA’s Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee (established in August 2011) by December 31, 2015. The final rule shall meet the following objectives of the Part 23 Committee: (1) Create a regulatory regime for small airplanes that will improve safety and decrease certification costs. (2) Set broad, outcome-driven safety objectives that will spur innovation and technology adoption. (3) Replace current, prescriptive requirements contained in FAA rules with performance-based regulations. (4) Use FAA-accepted consensus standards to clarify how the part 23 safety objectives may be met by specific designs and technologies. (c) Consensus-Based standards The Administrator shall use acceptable consensus-based standards whenever possible in the spirit of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1996 ( 15 U.S.C. 3701 (d) Safety cooperation The Administrator shall lead the effort to improve general aviation safety by working with leading aviation regulators to assist them in adopting a complementary regulatory approach for small airplanes. 4. Definitions In this Act, the following definitions apply: (1) Administrator The term Administrator (2) Consensus standards The term consensus standards (3) FAA The term FAA (4) General aviation The term general aviation (5) Part 23 The term part 23 (6) Small airplane The term small airplane July 16, 2013 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue a final rule to advance the safety and continued development of small airplanes by reorganizing the certification requirements to streamline the approval of safety advancements. Requires the final rule to meet certain consensus-based standards and FAA Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee objectives, including: (1) establishment of a regulatory regime for small airplane safety; (2) the establishment of broad, outcome-driven objectives that will spur small plane innovation and technology adoption; (3) the replacement of current, prescriptive requirements under Part 23 with performance-based regulations; and (4) the use of FAA-accepted consensus standards to clarify how Part 23 safety objectives may be met using specific small plane safety designs and technologies.