Most consideration in the nation’s rapidly growing aviation industry focuses on commercial passenger and cargo airlines. Attention to general aviation, which includes most aviation operations other than commercial and military, is often the result of an accident that involves a well-known figure, such as the 1999 crash of John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s, airplane. In fact, general aviation is an important component of the nation’s air transportation system and economy, accounting for 96 percent of all civilian aircraft and three out of every four takeoffs and landings. General aviation airports provide a vast network of landing areas across the country. And while most general aviation pilots fly only for personal use, others use their general aviation training as a base for moving into other parts of civilian aviation such as piloting for commercial passenger and cargo airlines. General aviation encompasses a wide variety of operations, including the training of new pilots, crop dusting, and providing air tours for sightseers and transportation for business executives. In addition, general aviation provides rapid transportation for medical and other civil emergencies. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) divides general aviation activities into use categories. About 85 percent of general aviation flying falls into one of five categories, as described in table 1. The largest of these categories is personal flying, which is defined as flying for pleasure or personal transportation and not for business purposes. In 1999, personal flying accounted for 36 percent of all general aviation hours flown, nearly twice as much as the next largest segment—instructional flying. The remaining categories include many diverse activities, such as medical services, aerial advertising, aerial mapping and photography, and aerial application of seeds or chemicals. General aviation benefits both the users of transportation services and the economy at large. For example, it increases the efficiency and productivity of businesses by reducing the travel time that would be required to drive or use more congested commercial airports; provides public health services, such as transporting patients and medical equipment; provides public safety services, such as monitoring floods or fires; alleviates congestion at commercial airports and provides an important transportation link to small communities not served by commercial air carriers; and provides training for new pilots. General aviation’s economic benefits are difficult to measure quantitatively, and studies on this topic have had limitations that have reduced the certainty of the studies’ findings. Nevertheless, according to a series of nationwide studies done for FAA on the effects of general aviation on economic activity, jobs, and earnings, general aviation’s contribution to the national economy has grown in the past decade. A report issued for FAA in 2000 estimated that in 1998, general aviation generated about $64.5 billion in total economic activity at the national level, an increase of $26.5 billion from the 1988 level of $38 billion. In 1998, general aviation accounted for about 0.7 percent of the gross domestic product and 7 percent of the total contribution of civil aviation. State studies show that general aviation’s economic impact on the states’ economies is generally less than 1 percent. However, according to these estimates, general aviation makes important contributions to the states in terms of economic output, jobs, and earnings that are generated. Appendix I provides more detailed information on the transportation and economic benefits of general aviation as well as on the limitations of the studies on this issue. All types of aircraft can be used in general aviation operations, including single- and multiengine piston aircraft, turboprops and turbojets, rotorcraft such as helicopters, and gliders. The general aviation fleet consists of about 219,000 active aircraft. While this fleet of general aviation aircraft is diverse, certain activities are generally associated with certain types of aircraft. For example, corporate flying generally involves the use of turboprop and turbojet aircraft; personal and instructional flying generally involve the use of small propeller aircraft. The largest category of aircraft is single-engine propeller, which in 1999 made up 69 percent of the general aviation fleet. Additional types of general aviation aircraft and their uses are described in figure 1. Although general aviation aircraft can take off and land at almost any airport, including most of the nation’s 538 commercial service airports, there is an extensive system of general aviation airports. Figure 2 illustrates the categories of airports in the United States. There are approximately 13,000 private-use general aviation airports and 4,800 public- use general aviation airports in the United States. About 2,500 general aviation airports are included in FAA’s National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), which identifies airports that are significant to national air transportation and to which FAA allocates funding for capital development. Reliever airports are a special category of general aviation airports in the NPIAS. Usually located near commercial airports, reliever airports are intended to help relieve congestion at commercial airports by diverting general aviation traffic away from commercial airports. FAA has designated 334 general aviation airports as reliever airports. The safety record of general aviation is sometimes brought to light when high-profile accidents occur. General aviation accidents, like commercial aviation accidents, can result from pilot error, mechanical failure, or other causes. Although the number of accidents in general aviation has decreased markedly during the past few years, its accident rate remains much higher than that of commercial aviation. Commercial aviation, because it involves the flying public, is subject to greater oversight and regulation than general aviation. While FAA’s primary effort to reduce general aviation accidents is to ensure that all regulations and requirements are met, FAA has also emphasized voluntary training and technology to reduce the accident rate of general aviation. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, aviation manufacturers became more frequent targets of product liability lawsuits that were brought by survivors of airplane crashes or families of victims of airplane crashes. This surge in the number of lawsuits came on the tail of a 1963 California Supreme Court ruling that adopted a rule of “strict liability,” which maintained that companies may be held liable for a product found to be defective or dangerous without proof of negligence. Other courts across the nation soon followed suit, shifting a greater liability burden toward manufacturers. As a result of the large number of lawsuits brought against aviation manufacturers, insurers increased the premiums they charged for product liability insurance. Manufacturers, some of whom were self-insured, also incurred costs from defending an increasing number of lawsuits. The escalating costs associated with product liability were reflected in rising aircraft prices, and by the 1980s, new aircraft sales plummeted as more and more prospective buyers chose to purchase used airplanes or to build their own airplanes from kits. The manufacturing industry began to suffer; between 1978 and 1988, production fell 94 percent, and the number of employees working in the industry fell 65 percent. By the end of 1986, two manufacturers, Beech and Cessna, had shut down most of their production lines for single-engine piston aircraft; and Piper, another manufacturer, had sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The federal government manages the national airspace system, including general aviation, with the goal of ensuring the adequate and safe operation of the system. The federal role includes allocating funds for airport improvements, controlling air traffic, issuing training rules for aviation personnel, and certifying the airworthiness of aircraft and other aviation equipment. A number of offices are responsible for related areas of the industry. These include the Office of Airport Planning and Programming, which provides funding for airport construction and improvements; the Aircraft Certification Service, which ensures that the types of aircraft in use are safe and airworthy; and the General Aviation and Commercial Division of the Flight Standards Service, which develops policies for the certification of pilots and instructors. FAA supports the nation’s airport infrastructure by providing funds for airport development and maintenance through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). Funds for this program, some of which are collected from taxes on airport users, are authorized and appropriated by the Congress and distributed among qualifying airports by FAA. The federal government provides more funding to general aviation airports than any other single source. FAA is responsible for overseeing the safety of general aviation. To do this, FAA determines the requirements for pilot certification and develops regulations and recommendations for pilot activities and training as well as for the use of technologies and the procedures that govern the use of airspace and airports. FAA’s pilot certification process establishes increasingly stringent piloting and medical requirements for certificates allowing pilots to fly in more advanced circumstances. In addition to certifications, pilots may also receive ratings, which allow them to perform additional activities or to fly certain types of aircraft. For example, pilots may receive ratings for activities such as instrument flying or for flying particular types of aircraft such as seaplanes or multiengine planes. To help ensure pilot proficiency, FAA also has requirements for recent flight experience, including requiring pilots to perform three takeoffs and landings within a 90-day period if they intend to carry passengers (or three night-time takeoffs and landings if they intend to carry passengers at night), requiring a flight review every 2 years, and requiring instrument-rated pilots to fly in instrument conditions for 6 hours within every 6-month period in order to maintain their instrument rating. Table 2 summarizes FAA’s requirements for the different certificates, along with the activities each certificate permits a pilot to perform. In addition to establishing certification requirements, FAA also oversees flight schools that operate under Part 141 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. These schools are certified and monitored by FAA: Students are tested on a periodic basis and taught a curriculum that is approved by FAA. Other flight schools operate under Part 61 and do not have as high a degree of FAA oversight. Students at Part 61 schools are not required to be tested periodically throughout their training and may receive all of their training from one instructor rather than from multiple instructors. At Part 61 schools, students are not required to be taught according to an FAA- approved curriculum unless they are using a Personal Computer-based Aviation Training Device (PCATD). However, many large Part 61 schools use a commercially developed curriculum that is based on FAA-approved curricula.