What This Bill Does
This bill aims to improve the safety of the air supply inside airplanes. It creates a system for training crew members and first responders to handle smoke and fume incidents, requires airlines to report these incidents, and mandates that aircraft install air quality monitoring equipment to detect contamination.
Who It Affects
Flight attendants, pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, airport first responders and emergency response teams, airline companies (called air carriers), aircraft manufacturers, and passengers who fly on commercial aircraft.
Key Provisions
• The Federal Aviation Administration (a government agency that regulates aviation) must create training rules within 180 days requiring flight attendants, pilots, maintenance technicians, and airport first responders to receive training at least once per year on how to respond to smoke or fume incidents on aircraft. The training must cover sources of smoke and fumes, how to recognize dangerous fumes, health effects, response procedures, and reporting requirements. (Sec. 45402)
• Airlines must develop a standardized form for flight crews and maintenance workers to report smoke or fume incidents to the Federal Aviation Administration within 180 days. The form must collect information about the incident including flight details, the nature and location of smoke or fumes, engine information, when it happened, symptoms experienced by crew and passengers, and any maintenance work done before and after the incident. (Sec. 45403)
• The Federal Aviation Administration must publish incident statistics at least every three months and create a searchable public website where people can look up reported smoke and fume incidents by date, aircraft type, airline, flight phase, and other details. Personal information must be removed before publishing. (Sec. 45403)
• Airlines must install onboard air quality monitoring equipment within one year of final regulations that can detect dangerous carbon monoxide levels and engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes in real time, alert pilots and flight attendants to poor air quality, and help identify where contamination is coming from in the air supply system. (Sec. 45405)
• The Federal Aviation Administration must conduct investigations when crew members or passengers experienced symptoms requiring medical attention after a smoke or fume incident. Investigations must gather information from all involved crew, maintenance workers, first responders, and doctors, and identify the cause if possible. (Sec. 45404)
What Changes
Smoke and fume incidents on aircraft will be systematically tracked and reported through a new federal database accessible to the public. Airlines will be required to install air quality monitoring equipment and train all relevant personnel on handling these incidents. A standardized investigation process will apply to incidents where people were medically affected. Aircraft manufacturers must include air quality monitoring equipment in their minimum equipment lists and provide response procedures in flight manuals.
Important Definitions
The bill defines "Administrator" as the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. (Sec. 45401)
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 615
To improve the safety of the air supply on aircraft, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 1, 2023
Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) intro-
duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To improve the safety of the air supply on aircraft, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cabin Air Safety Act
4
of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SAFETY OF THE AIR SUP-
6
PLY ON AIRCRAFT.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart III of part A of subtitle
8
VII of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding
9
at the end the following new chapter:
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‘‘CHAPTER 454—CABIN AIR QUALITY AND
1
SAFETY
2
‘‘§ 45401. Definition of Administrator
3
‘‘In this chapter the term ‘Administrator’ means the
4
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
5
‘‘§ 45402. Training to respond to smoke or fume inci-
6
dents on aircraft
7
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after
8
the date of the enactment of this section, the Adminis-
9
trator shall promulgate regulations requiring flight attend-
10
ants, pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, and airport
11
first responders and emergency response teams to receive
12
training, not less frequently than annually, on how to re-
13
spond to incidents on board aircraft involving smoke or
14
fumes.
15
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The training required by sub-
16
section (a) shall include the dissemination of educational
17
materials with respect to the following:
18
‘‘(1) Sources and types of smoke and fumes on
19
board aircraft.
20
‘‘(2) Odor and visual descriptors to allow an in-
21
dividual to recognize the presence of engine oil and
22
hydraulic fluid fumes and other potentially haz-
23
ardous fumes, such as fumes relating to engine ex-
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haust, ground service vehicle exhaust, fuel, de-icing
1
fluid, electrical failures, and ozone.
2
‘‘(3) The potential for acute or chronic impair-
3
ment to an individual relating to such fumes.
4
‘‘(4) Procedures for recognizing and responding
5
to smoke and fumes on board aircraft.
6
‘‘(5) An overview of the system for reporting in-
7
cidents of smoke or fumes on board aircraft estab-
8
lished under section 45403(a)(2).
9
‘‘(6) Requirements relating to reporting inci-
10
dents of smoke and fumes on board aircraft to the
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Administrator under sections 45403 and 45405(b).
12
‘‘§ 45403. Reporting of incidents of smoke or fumes on
13
board aircraft
14
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after
15
the date of the enactment of this section, the Adminis-
16
trator shall—
17
‘‘(1) develop a standardized form for flight at-
18
tendants, pilots, and aircraft maintenance techni-
19
cians to report incidents of smoke or fumes on board
20
an aircraft operated by an air carrier; and
21
‘‘(2) establish a system for reporting incidents
22
of smoke or fumes on board aircraft that allows—
23
‘‘(A) pilots, flight attendants, and aircraft
24
maintenance technicians to—
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‘‘(i) submit the form developed under
1
paragraph (1) to the Administrator and
2
the relevant air carrier; and
3
‘‘(ii) receive a copy of such submission
4
for their records; and
5
‘‘(B) pilots, flight attendants, aircraft
6
maintenance technicians, the collective bar-
7
gaining representative of employees of the air
8
carrier, and air carriers to search the reported
9
incidents database compiled by the Adminis-
10
trator for the purposes of reviewing and moni-
11
toring incidents contained in the database and
12
assisting with investigations conducted under
13
section 45404.
14
‘‘(b) CONTENT
OF FORMS.—The form developed
15
under subsection (a)(1) for reporting an incident of smoke
16
or fumes on board an aircraft shall include sections for
17
the following information, if available at the time of the
18
report:
19
‘‘(1) Identification of the flight number, the city
20
pair, the type of aircraft, the registration number of
21
the aircraft, and the individual reporting the inci-
22
dent.
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‘‘(2) Information about the presence of smoke,
1
including a description of the nature, intensity, and
2
visual consistency (if any).
3
‘‘(3) Information about the presence of fumes,
4
including a description of the nature and intensity of
5
the odor.
6
‘‘(4) Information about the location of the
7
smoke or fumes in the aircraft.
8
‘‘(5) Information about the source of the smoke
9
or fumes, including in relation to the air supply
10
vents and electrical system.
11
‘‘(6) Information about the type of smoke or
12
fumes.
13
‘‘(7) Information about the engine manufac-
14
turer, engine type, the engine serial number, and the
15
age of the engine.
16
‘‘(8) Information about—
17
‘‘(A) the phase of flight during which
18
smoke or fumes were present;
19
‘‘(B) the estimated duration of the smoke
20
or fumes; and
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‘‘(C) if the incident happened while the
22
aircraft was on the ground, information about
23
the air supply source at the time of the inci-
24
dent.
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‘‘(9) Other observations about the smoke or
1
fumes.
2
‘‘(10) A description of symptoms reported by
3
crew members and passengers and any required on-
4
board medical attention.
5
‘‘(11) Information with respect to whether crew
6
members or passengers used, needed, or were admin-
7
istered supplemental or emergency oxygen.
8
‘‘(12) Information regarding any disruption to
9
the operation of the flight or subsequent flights.
10
‘‘(13) Information about relevant maintenance
11
work conducted on the aircraft prior to and fol-
12
lowing the incident.
13
‘‘(14) Relevant air monitoring data collected
14
during the flight.
15
‘‘(c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF SMOKE AND FUME
16
EVENT INFORMATION.—
17
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than
18
quarterly and subject to paragraph (2), the Adminis-
19
trator shall compile, and make available to the pub-
20
lic, statistics regarding the information obtained
21
from the forms developed under subsection (a)(1)
22
and submitted to the Administrator.
23
‘‘(2) WEBSITE.—The Administrator shall de-
24
velop a publicly available internet website that in-
25
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cludes the aggregate data required under paragraph
1
(1) and a searchable database for the events re-
2
ported to the Administrator under subsection (a)(2)
3
that includes the following variables for each event:
4
‘‘(A) Date.
5
‘‘(B) Tail number.
6
‘‘(C) Aircraft type.
7
‘‘(D) Air carrier.
8
‘‘(E) Phase of flight.
9
‘‘(F) Location of smoke or fumes in the
10
aircraft.
11
‘‘(G) Description of smoke or fumes, in-
12
cluding relation to air supply vents and the na-
13
ture and intensity of the odor.
14
‘‘(H) Engine or auxiliary power unit type.
15
‘‘(I) Engine oil or hydraulic fluid type, in-
16
cluding product name.
17
‘‘(J) Deidentified narrative.
18
‘‘(K) Relevant maintenance information.
19
‘‘(L) Such other criteria as the Adminis-
20
trator considers appropriate.
21
‘‘(3) REDACTION.—Before making either indi-
22
vidual event information or aggregate data available
23
to the public under paragraph (1) or (2), the Admin-
24
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istrator shall redact any personally identifiable infor-
1
mation.
2
‘‘§ 45404. Investigations
3
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after
4
the date of the enactment of this section, the Adminis-
5
trator shall promulgate regulations—
6
‘‘(1) authorizing the Federal Aviation Adminis-
7
tration to, at their discretion, conduct an investiga-
8
tion described in subsection (b) not less than 7 days
9
after a report is submitted to the Administrator
10
through the system for reporting incidents of smoke
11
or fumes on board aircraft established under section
12
45403(a)(2); and
13
‘‘(2) requiring the Federal Aviation Administra-
14
tion to conduct an investigation described in sub-
15
section (b) when the report indicates that 1 or more
16
crew members or passengers had symptoms that re-
17
quired medical attention.
18
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR INVESTIGATIONS.—An in-
19
vestigation described in this subsection shall include the
20
following:
21
‘‘(1) Gathering factual and standardized infor-
22
mation from all flight attendants, pilots, aircraft
23
maintenance technicians, airport first responders,
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emergency response teams, and medical doctors in-
1
volved in the incident.
2
‘‘(2) Gathering any reports submitted under
3
section 45403 with respect to the incident.
4
‘‘(3) Gathering technical findings on any re-
5
placed, worn, missing, failed, or improperly serviced
6
components that may have resulted in the incident.
7
‘‘(4) Identifying the cause of the incident, if
8
possible.
9
‘‘(c) PARTICIPATION OF AIR CARRIERS AND COLLEC-
10
TIVE BARGAINING REPRESENTATIVES.—In conducting an
11
investigation under this section, the Federal Aviation Ad-
12
ministration shall—
13
‘‘(1) consult with the air carrier involved;
14
‘‘(2) work in conjunction with the technical rep-
15
resentatives of the air carrier; and
16
‘‘(3) invite the participation of the collective
17
bargaining representative of employees of the air
18
carrier.
19
‘‘§ 45405. Air quality monitoring equipment
20
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO INCLUDE ON AIRCRAFT.—
21
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
22
of this section, the Administrator shall promulgate regula-
23
tions requiring an air carrier, after 90 days for public
24
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comment and not later than 1 year after the regulations
1
are finalized in the Federal Register—
2
‘‘(1) to install and operate onboard detectors
3
and other air quality monitoring equipment that—
4
‘‘(A) are situated in the air supply system
5
to enable pilots and maintenance technicians to
6
identify the location of the source or sources of
7
air supply contamination in real time, including
8
any concentration of carbon monoxide that is
9
dangerous to human health;
10
‘‘(B) continuously monitor any relevant
11
marker compound consistent with engine oil
12
and hydraulic fluid fume concentration in the
13
aircraft cabin and air supply system; and
14
‘‘(C) alert the pilot and flight attendants
15
to poor air quality that is dangerous to human
16
health; and
17
‘‘(2) to have in place procedures to train the pi-
18
lots to initiate standardized communication and
19
source isolation protocols, as soon as appropriate,
20
with the flight attendants and air traffic controllers
21
(as needed), and to apply their professional judge-
22
ment based on onboard conditions, all in response to
23
poor air quality that is dangerous to human health.
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‘‘(b) AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—The Ad-
1
ministrator may establish standards for aircraft cabin air
2
quality, as the Administrator determines is necessary to
3
protect the health and safety of air carrier crew members
4
and passengers, in consultation with—
5
‘‘(1) the Director of the National Institute for
6
Occupational Safety and Health of the Centers for
7
Disease Control and Prevention;
8
‘‘(2) the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occu-
9
pational Safety and Health; and
10
‘‘(3) the Administrator of the Environmental
11
Protection Agency.
12
‘‘(c) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO AIR
13
QUALITY MONITORING EQUIPMENT IN AIRCRAFT MANU-
14
ALS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact-
15
ment of this section, the Administrator shall promulgate
16
regulations requiring an aircraft manufacturer that manu-
17
factures aircraft for air carriers to include procedures for
18
responding to alarms from air quality monitoring equip-
19
ment required under subsection (a) during normal and
20
nonstandard operations in the flight operator’s manual for
21
each such aircraft produced by the manufacturer.
22
‘‘(d) CONTINUING RESEARCH TO DEVELOP SENSORS
23
AND TECHNIQUES TO MONITOR CABIN AIR QUALITY.—
24
The Administrator shall continue to research, study, and
25
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identify emerging technologies suitable to provide reliable
1
warning of cabin air contamination from an aircraft bleed
2
air system, including through investigation and research
3
into specific sensors, methods, and operational techniques
4
to prevent poor air quality that is dangerous to human
5
health.
6
‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
7
tion may be construed to imply that an investigation under
8
section 45404 is not necessary or that crew members and
9
passengers have not been exposed to smoke or fumes if
10
the alarm from any air quality monitoring equipment in-
11
stalled on an aircraft is not activated.
12
‘‘§ 45406. Minimum equipment list for bleed air sys-
13
tem
14
‘‘Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
15
ment of this section, the Administrator shall promulgate
16
regulations requiring any manufacturer of aircraft that
17
transports passengers or cargo to include the air quality
18
monitoring equipment required under section 45405 in the
19
master minimum equipment list for aircraft with a bleed
20
air system certified under section 44704 or for which cer
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]