Title: Human Factors Improvements to the Aircraft Certification Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Human Factors Improvements to the Aircraft Certification Act
This bill addresses the integration of human factors into the aircraft certification process.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must (1) evaluate tools and methods to support the integration of human factors into the aircraft certification process of flight deck and flight control systems for transport airplanes, and (2) develop a framework to implement such tools and methods with the objective of improving safety.
Additionally, the FAA must develop a human factors education program that addresses the effects of modern flight deck systems, including automated systems, on human performance for transport airplanes and the approaches for better integration of human factors in aircraft design and certification.
Each transport airplane manufacturer must (1) provide the FAA with information or findings on flight crew training to ensure it adequately includes consideration of human factors; and (2) identify any technical basis, justification, or rationale for such information and findings.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8403 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8403

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
better integrate human factors into the aircraft certification process 
 through the deployment of necessary enhancements to improve aviation 
                    safety, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 25, 2020

  Mr. Larsen of Washington (for himself and Mr. Graves of Louisiana) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
better integrate human factors into the aircraft certification process 
 through the deployment of necessary enhancements to improve aviation 
                    safety, 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 ``Human Factors Improvements to the 
Aircraft Certification Act''.

SEC. 2. HUMAN FACTORS.

    (a) Aircraft Certification Process.--
            (1) Evaluation.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator (acting through the 
        Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety of the 
        Administration) shall--
                    (A) conduct an evaluation of the development of 
                tools and methods to support the integration of human 
                factors assessment and system safety assessments of 
                human interaction with flight deck and flight control 
                systems for transport airplanes into the aircraft 
                certification process under section 44704 of title 49, 
                United States Code; and
                    (B) develop a framework to better integrate human 
                factors throughout such aircraft certification process 
                with the objective of improving safety by designing 
                systems and training pilots in a manner that accounts 
                for contemporary knowledge to reduce the possibility of 
                an accident resulting in whole or in part from the 
                pilot's interaction with the aircraft.
            (2) Report to congress.--Not later than 60 days after the 
        completion of the evaluation required under paragraph (1), the 
        Administrator shall submit to Congress a report detailing the 
        findings of such report and a plan for implementation based on 
        such findings of such report.
            (3) Implementation.--Upon submission of the report required 
        under paragraph (2), the Administrator shall implement the 
        findings of such evaluation.
    (b) Human Factors Education Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall develop a human 
        factors education program that addresses the effects of modern 
        flight deck systems, including automated systems, on human 
        performance for transport airplanes and the approaches for 
        better integration of human factors in aircraft design and 
        certification.
            (2) Target audience.--The human factors education program 
        shall be integrated into the training protocol in existence as 
        of the date of the enactment of this Act such that such program 
        is routinely administered to the following:
                    (A) Appropriate employees within the Flight 
                Standards Service.
                    (B) Appropriate employees within the Aircraft 
                Certification Service.
                    (C) Other employees or authorized representatives 
                determined to be necessary by the Administrator.
    (c) Transport Airplane Manufacturer Information Sharing.--The 
Administrator shall--
            (1) require each transport airplane manufacturer to provide 
        the Administrator with the information or findings necessary 
        for flight crew to be trained on flight deck systems;
            (2) ensure the information or findings under paragraph (1) 
        adequately includes consideration of human factors; and
            (3) ensure that each transport airplane manufacturer 
        identifies any technical basis, justification or rationale for 
        the information and findings under paragraph (1).
    (d) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
        Federal Aviation Administration.
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
            (3) Human factors.--The term ``human factors'' means a 
        multidisciplinary set of principles developed to holistically 
        explain and predict pilot behavior in relation to the 
        management of the operation of an aircraft, including the 
        pilot's management of aircraft systems and response to systems 
        failures and non-normal conditions.
            (4) Transport airplane.--The term ``transport airplane'' 
        means a transport-category airplane designed for operation by 
        an air carrier or foreign air carrier type-certificated with a 
        passenger seating capacity of 30 or more or an all-cargo 
        derivative of such an airplane.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
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