I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6448 
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to con-
duct a study to compare the effects of allowing certain aircraft certified 
under part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to operate 
under part 121 of such title, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 
Mr. MANN (for himself and Mr. MAGAZINER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration to conduct a study to compare the effects of 
allowing certain aircraft certified under part 23 of title 
14, Code of Federal Regulations, to operate under part 
121 of such title, 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. STUDY ON SAFETY AND AIRWORTHINESS OF 
CERTAIN AIRCRAFT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct a study on 
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the effects of allowing post-2017 aircraft to operate under 
part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 
under subsection (a), the Administrator shall consider— 
(1) actions that Congress may take to 
incentivize aircraft manufacturers to produce air-
craft that are right-sized to serve small communities; 
(2) recommendations of the National Transpor-
tation Safety Board contained in Safety Study 94/ 
02, titled ‘‘Commuter Airline Safety’’, and published 
by the Board in November 1994; 
(3) the final rule of the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration, titled ‘‘Commuter Operations and Gen-
eral Certification and Operations Requirements’’, 
and published on December 20, 1995 (60 Fed. Reg. 
65832); and 
(4) the operational disadvantages that air car-
riers face due to Federal regulations compared with 
foreign air carriers using post-2017 aircraft. 
(c) COMPOSITION OF STUDY GROUP.—In conducting 
the study under subsection (a), the Administrator shall co-
ordinate with, and solicit comments and input from an 
independent study group, which shall be comprised of the 
following members appointed by the Administrator: 
(1) Representatives of the aviation industry. 
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(2) Representatives of small, rural, and remote 
communities affected by decreasing scheduled airline 
service, as well as communities in which subsidies 
are provided pursuant to subchapter II of chapter 
417 of title 49, United States Code. 
(3) Aviation safety experts with specific knowl-
edge of aircraft airworthiness requirements under 
part 23 and part 25 of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations. 
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
shall complete the study required under subsection 
(a) and submit to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representative 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Technology of the Senate a report on such study. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The Administrator shall in-
clude in the report required under paragraph (1)— 
(A) a comparison of the safety of pre-1995 
aircraft with the safety of post-2017 aircraft; 
(B) a description of the number of pre- 
1995 aircraft that are used for commercial pur-
poses as of the date of enactment of this Act; 
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(C) an assessment of whether air carriers 
operating under part 121 of title 14, Code of 
Federal Regulations, would purchase post-2017 
aircraft for commercial purposes; and 
(D) an assessment of the economic need of 
scheduled airline service of small and rural 
communities and the longstanding challenges of 
improving scheduled service to these commu-
nities. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) PRE-1995 AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘pre-1995 
aircraft’’ means passenger aircraft with at least 10 
and not more than 19 seats that were certified 
under part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula-
tions, before March 29, 1995, and that operate 
under part 121 of such title. 
(2) POST-2017
AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘post- 
2017 aircraft’’ means passenger aircraft with at 
least 10 and not more than 19 seats certified under 
part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 
after August 30, 2017. 
Æ 
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