I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3862
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prevent certain frauds involving
aircraft or space vehicle parts, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 2000
Mr. MCCOLLUM introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prevent certain
frauds involving aircraft or space vehicle parts, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aircraft Safety Act
of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF FRAUDS INVOLVING AIRCRAFT OR
SPACE VEHICLE PARTS IN INTERSTATE OR
FOREIGN COMMERCE.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 31 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by striking all after the section
heading and inserting the following:
‘‘(a) As used in this chapter—
‘‘(1) the term ‘aircraft’ means a civil, military,
or public contrivance invented, used, or designed to
navigate, fly, or travel in the air;
‘‘(2) the term ‘aviation quality’, with respect to
a part of an aircraft or space vehicle, means the
quality of having been manufactured, constructed,
produced, maintained, repaired, overhauled, rebuilt,
reconditioned, or restored in conformity with appli-
cable standards specified by law (including applica-
ble regulations);
‘‘(3) the term ‘destructive substance’ means an
explosive substance, flammable material, infernal
machine, or other chemical, mechanical, or radio-
active device or matter of a combustible, contamina-
tive, corrosive, or explosive nature;
‘‘(4) the term ‘in flight’ means—
‘‘(A) any time from the moment at which
all the external doors of an aircraft are closed
following embarkation until the moment when
any such door is opened for disembarkation;
and
‘‘(B) in the case of a forced landing, until
competent authorities take over the responsi-
bility for the aircraft and the persons and prop-
erty on board;
‘‘(5) the term ‘in service’ means—
‘‘(A) any time from the beginning of pre-
flight preparation of an aircraft by ground per-
sonnel or by the crew for a specific flight until
24 hours after any landing; and
‘‘(B) in any event includes the entire pe-
riod during which the aircraft is in flight;
‘‘(6) the term ‘motor vehicle’ means every de-
scription of carriage or other contrivance propelled
or drawn by mechanical power and used for commer-
cial purposes on the highways in the transportation
of passengers, passengers and property, or property
or cargo;
‘‘(7) the term ‘part’ means a frame, assembly,
component, appliance, engine, propeller, material,
part, spare part, piece, section, or related integral or
auxiliary equipment;
‘‘(8) the term ‘space vehicle’ means a man-
made device, either manned or unmanned, designed
for operation beyond the Earth’s atmosphere;
‘‘(9) the term ‘State’ means a State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, and any
commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United
States; and
‘‘(10) the term ‘used for commercial purposes’
means the carriage of persons or property for any
fare, fee, rate, charge or other consideration, or di-
rectly or indirectly in connection with any business,
or other undertaking intended for profit.
‘‘(b) In this chapter, the terms ‘aircraft engine’, ‘air
navigation facility’, ‘appliance’, ‘civil aircraft’, ‘foreign air
commerce’, ‘interstate air commerce’, ‘landing area’, ‘over-
seas air commerce’, ‘propeller’, ‘spare part’, and ‘special
aircraft jurisdiction of the United States’ have the mean-
ings given those terms in sections 40102(a) and 46501
of title 49.’’.
(b) AIRCRAFT OR SPACE VEHICLE PARTS FRAUD.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘§ 38. Fraud involving aircraft or space vehicle parts
in interstate or foreign commerce
‘‘(a) Whoever, in or affecting interstate or foreign
commerce, knowingly and with the intent to defraud—
‘‘(1)(A) falsifies or conceals a material fact;
‘‘(B) makes any materially fraudulent represen-
tation; or
‘‘(C) makes or uses any materially false writing,
entry, certification, document, record, data plate,
label, or electronic communication;
concerning any aircraft or space vehicle part;
‘‘(2) exports from or imports or introduces into
the United States, sells, trades, installs on or in any
aircraft or space vehicle any aircraft or space vehicle
part using or by means of a fraudulent representa-
tion, document, record, certification, depiction, data
plate, label, or electronic communication; or
‘‘(3) attempts or conspires to commit an offense
described in paragraph (1) or (2);
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
‘‘(b) The punishment for an offense under subsection
(a) is as follows:
‘‘(1) If the offense relates to the aviation qual-
ity of a part and the part is installed in an aircraft
or space vehicle, a fine of not more than $500,000,
imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.
‘‘(2) If, by reason of the failure of the part to
operate as represented, the part to which the offense
is related is the proximate cause of a malfunction or
failure that results in serious bodily injury (as de-
fined in section 1365), a fine of not more than
$1,000,000, imprisonment for not more than 20
years, or both.
‘‘(3) If, by reason of the failure of the part to
operate as represented, the part to which the offense
is related is the proximate cause of a malfunction or
failure that results in the death of any person, a fine
of not more than $1,000,000, imprisonment for any
term of years or life, or both.
‘‘(4) In the case of an offense under subsection
(a) not described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3), a fine
under this title, imprisonment for not more than 5
years, or both.
‘‘(5) If the offense is committed by an organiza-
tion, a fine of not more than—
‘‘(A) $10,000,000 in the case of an offense
described in paragraph (1) or (4); and
‘‘(B) $20,000,000 in the case of an offense
described under paragraph (2) or (3).
‘‘(c)(1) The district courts of the United States shall
have jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this
section by issuing appropriate orders, including—
‘‘(A) ordering a person (convicted of an offense
under this section) to divest any interest, direct or
indirect, in any enterprise used to commit or facili-
tate the commission of the offense, or to destroy, or
to mutilate and sell as scrap, aircraft material or
part inventories or stocks;
‘‘(B) imposing reasonable restrictions on the fu-
ture activities or investments of any such person, in-
cluding prohibiting engagement in the same type of
endeavor as used to commit the offense; and
‘‘(C) ordering the dissolution or reorganization
of any enterprise knowingly used to commit or facili-
tate the commission of an offense under this section
making due provisions for the rights and interests of
innocent persons.
‘‘(2) Pending final determination of a proceeding
brought under this section, the court may enter such re-
straining orders or prohibitions, or take such other actions
(including the acceptance of satisfactory performance
bonds) as the court deems proper.
‘‘(3) A final judgment rendered in favor of the United
States in any criminal proceeding brought under this sec-
tion shall stop the defendant from denying the essential
allegations of the criminal offense in any subsequent civil
proceeding brought by the United States.
‘‘(d)(1) The court, in imposing sentence on any per-
son convicted of an offense under this section, shall order,
in addition to any other sentence and irrespective of any
provision of State law, that the person forfeit to the
United States—
‘‘(A) any property constituting, or derived from,
any proceeds that the person obtained, directly or
indirectly, as a result of the offense; and
‘‘(B) any of the person’s property used, or in-
tended to be used in any manner, to commit or fa-
cilitate the commission of the offense, if the court in
its discretion so determines, taking into consider-
ation the nature, scope, and proportionality of the
use of the property in the offense.
‘‘(2) The forfeiture of property under this section, in-
cluding any seizure and disposition of the property, and
any proceedings relating to the property, shall be governed
by section 413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Pre-
vention Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 853) except subsection
(d) of that section.
‘‘(e) This section does not preempt or displace any
other remedy, civil or criminal, provided by Federal or
State law for the fraudulent importation, sale, trade, in-
stallation, or introduction into commerce of an aircraft or
space vehicle part.
‘‘(f) This section also applies to conduct occurring
outside the United States if—
‘‘(1) the offender is a natural person who is a
citizen or permanent resident alien of the United
States, or an organization organized under the laws
of the United States or political subdivision thereof;
‘‘(2) the aircraft or spacecraft part as to which
the violation relates was installed in an aircraft or
space vehicle owned or operated at the time of the
offense by a citizen or permanent resident alien of
the United States, or by an organization organized
under the laws of the United States or a State polit-
ical subdivision thereof; or
‘‘(3) an act in furtherance of the offense was
committed in the United States.’’.
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of chapter 2 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new item:
‘‘38. Fraud involving aircraft or space vehicle parts in interstate or foreign com-
merce.’’.
(3) 
WIRETAPPING
PREDICATE.—Section
2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ‘‘section 38 (relating to air-
craft parts fraud),’’ after ‘‘section 32 (relating to de-
struction of aircraft or aircraft facilities),’’.
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