Title: Helicopter Fuel System Safety Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Helicopter Fuel System Safety Act
This bill prohibits a person from operating a newly manufactured helicopter in U.S. airspace unless the Federal Aviation Administration certifies that the helicopter's design complies with certain crash resistant fuel system requirements.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3150 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3150

To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to helicopter crash 
            resistant fuel systems, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2017

  Mr. Perlmutter (for himself and Mr. Polis) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to helicopter crash 
            resistant fuel systems, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Helicopter Fuel System Safety Act''.

SEC. 2. HELICOPTER CRASH RESISTANT FUEL SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 447 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 44736. Fuel system crash resistance
    ``(a) Prohibition.--
            ``(1) In general.--A person may not operate a covered 
        rotorcraft in United States airspace unless the design of the 
        rotorcraft is certified by the Administrator of the Federal 
        Aviation Administration to--
                    ``(A) comply with the requirements under paragraphs 
                (1), (2), (3), (5), and (6) of section 27.952(a) and 
                section 27.952(f) or paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), and 
                (6) of section 29.952(a) and section 29.952(f) of title 
                14, Code of Federal Regulations, applicable to the 
                category of the rotorcraft; or
                    ``(B) employ other means acceptable to the 
                Administrator to provide an equivalent level of fuel 
                system crash resistance.
            ``(2) Covered rotorcraft defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term `covered rotorcraft' means a rotorcraft for which 
        manufacture was completed, as determined by the Administrator, 
        on or after the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment 
        of this section.
    ``(b) Administrative Provisions.--The Administrator shall--
            ``(1) expedite the certification and validation of United 
        States and foreign type designs and retrofit kits that improve 
        fuel system crashworthiness; and
            ``(2) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
        of this section, and periodically thereafter, issue a bulletin 
        to--
                    ``(A) inform rotorcraft owners and operators of 
                available modifications to improve fuel system 
                crashworthiness; and
                    ``(B) urge that such modifications be installed as 
                soon as practicable.
    ``(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed to affect the operation of a rotorcraft by the Department of 
Defense.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 447 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``44736. Fuel system crash resistance.''.
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