49 U.S.C. § 40104 (TRANSPORTATION)
§ 40104. Promotion of civil aeronautics and safety of air commerce
(a) Developing Civil Aeronautics and Safety of Air Commerce.—
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall encourage the development of civil aeronautics and safety of air commerce in and outside the United States. In carrying out this subsection, the Administrator shall take action that the Administrator considers necessary to establish, within available resources, a program to distribute civil aviation information in each region served by the Administration. The program shall provide, on request, informational material and expertise on civil aviation to State and local school administrators, college and university officials, and officers of other interested organizations.
(b) International Role of the FAA.—
(1) In general.—
The Administrator shall promote and achieve global improvements in the safety, efficiency, and environmental effect of air travel by exercising leadership with the Administrator’s foreign counterparts, in the International Civil Aviation Organization and its subsidiary organizations, and other international organizations and fora, and with the private sector.
(2) Bilateral and multilateral engagement; technical assistance.—
The Administrator shall—
(A) in consultation with the Secretary of State, engage bilaterally and multilaterally, including with the International Civil Aviation Organization, on an ongoing basis to bolster international collaboration, data sharing, and harmonization of international aviation safety requirements including through—
(i) sharing of continued operational safety information;
(ii) prioritization of pilot training deficiencies, including manual flying skills and flight crew training, to discourage over reliance on automation, further bolstering the components of airmanship;
(iii) encouraging the consideration of the safety advantages of appropriate Federal regulations, which may include relevant Federal regulations pertaining to flight crew training requirements; and
(iv) prioritizing any other flight crew training areas that the Administrator believes will enhance all international aviation safety; and
(B) seek to expand technical assistance provided by the Federal Aviation Administration in support of enhancing international aviation safety, including by—
(i) promoting and enhancing effective oversight systems, including operational safety enhancements identified through data collection and analysis;
(ii) promoting and encouraging compliance with international safety standards by counterpart civil aviation authorities;
(iii) minimizing cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities across the aviation ecosystem;
(iv) supporting the sharing of safety information, best practices, risk assessments, and mitigations through established international aviation safety groups; and
(v) providing technical assistance on any other aspect of aviation safety that the Administrator determines is likely to enhance international aviation safety.
(c) Airport Capacity Enhancement Projects at Congested Airports.—
In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator shall take action to encourage the construction of airport capacity enhancement projects at congested airports as those terms are defined in section 47175.
(d) Promotion of United States Aerospace Standards, Products, and Services Abroad.—
The Secretary shall take appropriate actions to—
(1) promote United States aerospace-related safety standards abroad;
(2) facilitate and vigorously defend approvals of United States aerospace products and services abroad;
(3) with respect to bilateral partners, utilize bilateral safety agreements and other mechanisms to improve validation of United States certificated aeronautical products, services, and appliances and enhance mutual acceptance in order to eliminate redundancies and unnecessary costs; and
(4) with respect to the aeronautical safety authorities of a foreign country, streamline validation and coordination processes.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1102; Pub. L. 103–429, § 6(47), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4384; Pub. L. 104–264, title IV, § 401(b)(1), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3255; Pub. L. 108–176, title III, § 303, title VIII, § 813, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2533, 2590; Pub. L. 115–254, div. B, title II, § 241, title V, § 539(a), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3257, 3370; Pub. L. 116–260, div. V, title I, § 119(f)(1), (2), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2342.)
text: Historical and Revision Notes
Pub. L. 103–272
Revised
Section
Source (U.S. Code)
Source (Statutes at Large)
40104
49 App.:1346.
Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85–726, § 305, 72 Stat. 749.
49 App.:1346a.
July 12, 1976, Pub. L. 94–353, § 21, 90 Stat. 884.
49 App.:1655(c)(1).
Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89–670, § 6(c)(1), 80 Stat. 938; Jan. 12, 1983, Pub. L. 97–449, § 7(b), 96 Stat. 2444.
The words “and foster” in 49 App.:1346 are omitted as surplus. The words “In carrying out this section” are substituted for “In furtherance of his mandate to promote civil aviation” in 49 App.:1346a because of the restatement. The word “Administrator” is substituted for “Secretary of Transportation acting through the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration” for consistency with the source provisions restated in this section. The words “be designed so as to”, “various aspects of”, and “civil and” are omitted as surplus.
heading: Pub. L. 103–429, § 6(47)(A), (B)
text: This makes conforming amendments to 49:40104, as enacted by section 1 of the Act of July 5, 1994 (Public Law 103–272, 108 Stat. 1102), because of the restatement of 49 App.:1655(c)(1) (words after last comma) as 49:40104(b) by section 6(47)(C) of the bill.
Pub. L. 103–429, § 6(47)(C)
Revised
Section
Source (U.S. Code)
Source (Statutes at Large)
40104(b)
49 App.:1655(c)(1) (words after last comma).
Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89–670, § 6(c)(1) (words after last comma), 80 Stat. 938; Jan. 12, 1983, Pub. L. 97–449, § 7(b), 96 Stat. 2444.
heading: Amendments
text: 2020—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–260 designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, and added par. (2).
2018—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–254, § 539(a), substituted “section 47175” for “section 47176”.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–254, § 241, added subsec. (d).
2003—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–176, § 813, amended heading and text of subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary of Transportation may develop and construct a civil supersonic aircraft.”
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 108–176, § 303, added subsec. (c).
1996—Pub. L. 104–264, § 401(b)(1)(A), inserted “safety of” before “air commerce” in section catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–264, § 401(b)(1)(B), (C), inserted “Safety of” before “Air Commerce” in heading and “safety of” before “air commerce” in text.
1994—Pub. L. 103–429 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, substituted “carrying out this subsection” for “carrying out this section”, and added subsec. (b).
heading: Effective Date of 2003 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 108–176 applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 2003, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–176, set out as a note under section 106 of this title.
heading: Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
text: Except as otherwise specifically provided, amendment by Pub. L. 104–264 applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1996, and not to be construed as affecting funds made available for a fiscal year ending before Oct. 1, 1996, see section 3 of Pub. L. 104–264, set out as a note under section 106 of this title.
heading: Effective Date of 1994 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 103–429 effective July 5, 1994, see section 9 of Pub. L. 103–429, set out as a note under section 321 of this title.
heading: International Pilot Training
text: Pub. L. 116–260, div. V, title I, § 119(e), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2341, provided that:
“(1) In general.—
The Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator, and other appropriate officials of the Government shall exercise leadership in setting global standards to improve air carrier pilot training and qualifications for—
“(A) monitoring and managing the behavior and performance of automated systems;
“(B) controlling the flightpath of aircraft without autoflight systems engaged;
“(C) effectively utilizing and managing autoflight systems, when appropriate;
“(D) effectively identifying situations in which the use of autoflight systems is appropriate and when such use is not appropriate; and
“(E) recognizing and responding appropriately to non-normal conditions.
“(2) International leadership.—
The Secretary, the Administrator, and other appropriate officials of the Government shall exercise leadership under paragraph (1) by working with—
“(A) foreign counterparts of the Administrator in the ICAO and its subsidiary organizations;
“(B) other international organizations and fora; and
“(C) the private sector.
“(3) Considerations.—
In exercising leadership under paragraph (1), the Secretary, the Administrator, and other appropriate officials of the Government shall consider—
“(A) the latest information relating to human factors;
“(B) aircraft manufacturing trends, including those relating to increased automation in the cockpit;
“(C) the extent to which cockpit automation improves aviation safety and introduces novel risks;
“(D) the availability of opportunities for pilots to practice manual flying skills;
“(E) the need for consistency in maintaining and enhancing manual flying skills worldwide;
“(F) recommended practices of other countries that enhance manual flying skills and automation management; and
“(G) whether a need exists for initial and recurrent training standards for improve pilots’ proficiency in manual flight and in effective management of autoflight systems.
“(4) Congressional briefing.—
The Secretary, the Administrator, and other appropriate officials of the Government shall provide to the congressional committees of jurisdiction regular briefings on the status of efforts undertaken pursuant to this subsection.”
[For definitions of terms used in section 119(e) of div. V of Pub. L. 116–260, set out above, see section 137 of div. V of Pub. L. 116–260, set out as a note under section 40101 of this title.]
heading: International Efforts Regarding Tracking of Civil Aircraft
text: Pub. L. 115–254, div. B, title III, § 304, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3261, provided that:
“The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall exercise leadership on creating a global approach to improving aircraft tracking by working with—
“(1) foreign counterparts of the Administrator in the International Civil Aviation Organization and its subsidiary organizations;
“(2) other international organizations and fora; and
“(3) the private sector.”