† HR 1848 EAS 
(2) Small airplanes comprise nearly 90 percent 
of general aviation aircraft certified by the Federal 
Aviation Administration. 
(3) General aviation provides for the cultivation 
of a workforce of engineers, manufacturing and main-
tenance professionals, and pilots who secure the eco-
nomic success and defense of the United States. 
(4) General aviation contributes to well-paying 
jobs in the manufacturing and technology sectors in 
the United States and products produced by those sec-
tors are exported in great numbers. 
(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 the market are resulting 
in a lack of innovation and investment in small air-
plane design. 
(7) Since 2003, the United States lost 10,000 ac-
tive private pilots per year on average, partially due 
to a lack of cost-effective, new small airplanes. 
(8) General aviation safety can be improved by 
modernizing and revamping the regulations relating 
to small airplanes to clear the path for technology
† HR 1848 EAS 
adoption and cost-effective means to retrofit the exist-
ing fleet with new safety technologies. 
SEC. 3. SAFETY AND REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS FOR 
GENERAL AVIATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 15, 2015, 
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
shall issue a final rule— 
(1) to advance the safety and continued develop-
ment of small airplanes by reorganizing the certifi-
cation requirements for such airplanes under part 23 
to streamline the approval of safety advancements; 
and 
(2) that meets the objectives described in sub-
section (b). 
(b) OBJECTIVES DESCRIBED.—The objectives described 
in this subsection are based on the recommendations of the 
Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee: 
(1) The establishment of a regulatory regime for 
small airplanes that will improve safety and reduce 
the regulatory cost burden for the Federal Aviation 
Administration and the aviation industry. 
(2) The establishment of broad, outcome-driven 
safety objectives that will spur innovation and tech-
nology adoption.
† HR 1848 EAS 
(3) The replacement of current, prescriptive re-
quirements under part 23 with performance-based 
regulations. 
(4) The use of consensus standards accepted by 
the Federal Aviation Administration to clarify how 
the safety objectives of part 23 may be met using spe-
cific designs and technologies. 
(c) CONSENSUS-BASED STANDARDS.—In prescribing 
regulations under this section, the Administrator shall use 
consensus standards, as described in section 12(d) of the Na-
tional Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1996 
(15 U.S.C. 272 note), to the extent practicable while con-
tinuing traditional methods for meeting part 23. 
(d) SAFETY COOPERATION.—The Administrator shall 
lead the effort to improve general aviation safety by work-
ing with leading aviation regulators to assist them in 
adopting a complementary regulatory approach for small 
airplanes. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CONSENSUS STANDARDS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘consensus 
standards’’ means standards developed by an or-
ganization described in subparagraph (B) that 
may include provisions requiring that owners of 
relevant intellectual property have agreed to
† HR 1848 EAS 
make that intellectual property available on a 
nondiscriminatory, royalty-free, or reasonable 
royalty basis to all interested persons. 
(B) ORGANIZATIONS DESCRIBED.—An orga-
nization described in this subparagraph is a do-
mestic or international organization that— 
(i) plans, develops, establishes, or co-
ordinates, through a process based on con-
sensus and using agreed-upon procedures, 
voluntary standards; and 
(ii) operates in a transparent manner, 
considers a balanced set of interests with re-
spect to such standards, and provides for 
due process and an appeals process with re-
spect to such standards. 
(2) PART 23.—The term ‘‘part 23’’ means part 
23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(3) PART 23 REORGANIZATION AVIATION RULE-
MAKING
COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Part 23 Reorga-
nization Aviation Rulemaking Committee’’ means the 
aviation rulemaking committee established by the 
Federal Aviation Administration in August 2011 to 
consider the reorganization of the regulations under 
part 23.
† HR 1848 EAS 
(4) SMALL
AIRPLANE.—The term ‘‘small air-
plane’’ means an airplane which is certified to part 
23 standards. 
Attest: 
Secretary.