Aircraft Safety Improvement Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3866 To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the Federal Aviation Administration’s aircraft certification process, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 2, 2020 Mr. WICKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the Federal Aviation Administration’s aircraft certification process, 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 ‘‘Aircraft Safety Im- 4 provement Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Definitions. Sec. 4. Safety management system for manufacturers. Sec. 5. Best practices for Organization Designation Authorizations. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3866 IS Sec. 6. Review of human factors assumptions. Sec. 7. Human factors research plan. Sec. 8. Certification pilot operational evaluations. Sec. 9. Review of FAA certification expertise. SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 3 trator’’ means the Administrator of the FAA. 4 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 5 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 6 gress’’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, 7 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com- 8 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 9 House of Representatives. 10 (3) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed- 11 eral Aviation Administration. 12 SEC. 4. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTUR- 13 ERS. 14 (a) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con- 16 duct a rulemaking proceeding to require that manu- 17 facturers that hold both a type certificate and a pro- 18 duction certificate issued pursuant to section 44704 19 of title 49, United States Code, where the United 20 States is the State of Design and State of Manufac- 21 ture, have in place a safety management system that 22 is consistent with the standards established by the 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3866 IS International Civil Aviation Organization for such 1 systems. 2 (2) AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE.—Not 3 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 4 this Act, the Administrator shall establish an avia- 5 tion rulemaking committee to make recommenda- 6 tions on the rulemaking to be carried out under 7 paragraph (1). 8 (b) FINAL RULE DEADLINE.—Not later than 24 9 months after establishing the aviation rulemaking com- 10 mittee under subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall 11 issue a final rule pursuant to the rulemaking proceeding 12 required under subsection (a). 13 (c) SURVEILLANCE AND AUDIT REQUIREMENT.— 14 The final rule issued pursuant to subsection (b) shall in- 15 clude a requirement for the Administrator to implement 16 a documented surveillance process by defining and plan- 17 ning inspections, audits, and monitoring activities on a 18 continuous basis, to ensure that design and production ap- 19 proval holders of aviation products meet and continue to 20 meet safety management system requirements under the 21 rule. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3866 IS SEC. 5. BEST PRACTICES FOR ORGANIZATION DESIGNA- 1 TION AUTHORIZATIONS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 213 of the FAA Reau- 3 thorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254, 132 Stat. 4 3249) is amended— 5 (1) by striking subsection (g); 6 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 7 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; 8 (3) by inserting after subsection (b), the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(c) BEST PRACTICES REVIEW.—In addition to con- 11 ducting the survey required under subsection (b), the 12 Panel shall conduct a review of all ODA holders to identify 13 and develop best practices. At a minimum, the best prac- 14 tices shall address preventing and deterring instances of 15 undue pressure on or by an ODA unit member, within an 16 ODA unit, or by an ODA holder, or instances of perceived 17 regulatory coziness or other failures to maintain independ- 18 ence between the FAA and an ODA holder or ODA unit 19 member. In carrying out such review, the Panel shall— 20 ‘‘(1) examine other government regulated indus- 21 tries to gather lessons learned, procedures, or proc- 22 esses that address undue pressure of employees, per- 23 ceived regulatory coziness, or other failures to main- 24 tain independence; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3866 IS ‘‘(2) identify ways to improve communications 1 between an ODA unit, ODA unit members, and 2 FAA engineers and inspectors, in order to enable di- 3 rect communication of technical concerns that arise 4 during a certification project without fear of reprisal 5 to the ODA unit or ODA unit member; and 6 ‘‘(3) examine the FAA Designee Program, in- 7 cluding the assignment of FAA advisors to des- 8 ignees, to determine which components of the pro- 9 gram may improve the FAA’s oversight of ODA 10 units, ODA unit members, and the ODA program.’’; 11 (4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para- 12 graph (2))— 13 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ 14 after the semicolon at the end; 15 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe- 16 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(7) the results of the review conducted under 19 subsection (c).’’; and 20 (5) by inserting after subsection (g) (as redesig- 21 nated by paragraph (2)), the following: 22 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES ADOPTION.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 24 not later than 180 days after the date on which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3866 IS Administrator receives the report required under 1 subsection (e), the Administrator shall establish best 2 practices for all ODA holders and require such prac- 3 tices to be incorporated into each ODA holder’s ap- 4 proved procedures manual. 5 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND COMMENT PERIOD.—The Ad- 6 ministrator shall publish the established best prac- 7 tices for public notice and comment for not fewer 8 than 60 days prior to requiring the practices be in- 9 corporated into each ODA holder’s approved proce- 10 dures manual. 11 ‘‘(i) SUNSET.—The Panel shall terminate on the ear- 12 lier of— 13 ‘‘(1) the date of submission of the report under 14 subsection (e); or 15 ‘‘(2) the date that is 2 years after the date on 16 which the Panel is first convened under subsection 17 (a).’’. 18 (b) PROCEDURES MANUAL.—Section 44736(b)(3) of 19 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 20 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ 21 after the semicolon at the end; 22 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period 23 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3866 IS ‘‘(G) ensure the ODA holders procedures 1 manual contains procedures and policies based 2 on best practices established by the Adminis- 3 trator of the FAA to mitigate undue pressure 4 and regulatory coziness or other failures to 5 maintain independence.’’. 6 SEC. 6. REVIEW OF HUMAN FACTORS ASSUMPTIONS. 7 (a) HUMAN FACTORS IN CERTIFICATION.—Not later 8 than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 9 Administrator shall initiate a review and may, after such 10 review and as necessary, revise existing regulations and 11 policies, including but not limited to sections 25.1302, 12 25.1309, and 25.1322 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula- 13 tions, to integrate and emphasize human factors and 14 human system integration, particularly those related to 15 pilot and aircraft interfaces. 16 (b) REVIEW.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Ad- 17 ministrator shall— 18 (1) review existing assumptions on pilot rec- 19 ognition and response as part of the certification 20 process; 21 (2) validate such assumptions with applicable 22 human factors research, and as necessary modify the 23 existing assumptions; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3866 IS (3) ensure that when carrying out the certifi- 1 cation of a new aircraft type, including a supple- 2 mental or amended type, the cumulative impact that 3 new technologies may have on pilot response are 4 properly assessed; and 5 (4) ensure that any action carried out under 6 this subsection accounts for the necessary adjust- 7 ments to pilot training needs. 8 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after com- 9 pleting the review required under subsection (a), the Ad- 10 ministrator shall submit a report to the appropriate com- 11 mittees of Congress detailing the results of the review and 12 what revisions or other changes were made as a result of 13 such review. 14 SEC. 7. HUMAN FACTORS RESEARCH PLAN. 15 (a) HUMAN FACTORS RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later 16 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 17 the Administrator, in consultation with aircraft manufac- 18 turers, operators, and pilots, and in coordination with the 19 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad- 20 ministration, shall develop a research plan to address the 21 integration of human factors in the design and certifi- 22 cation of transport category aircraft. 23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the research 24 plan under subsection (a), the Administrator shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3866 IS (1) establish goals for research and continuing 1 education in areas of study relevant to advancing 2 technology, improving design, engineering, and cer- 3 tification practices, and facilitating better under- 4 standing of human factors concepts in the context of 5 the growing development and reliance on automation 6 in aircraft operations; 7 (2) take into consideration and leverage any ex- 8 isting or planned research that is conducted by or 9 conducted in partnership with the FAA; and 10 (3) focus on— 11 (A) preventing a recurrence of the types of 12 recent accidents that have involved large trans- 13 port category airplanes designed and manufac- 14 tured in the United States; and 15 (B) increasingly complex aircraft systems 16 and designs. 17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 18 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 19 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. 20 SEC. 8. CERTIFICATION PILOT OPERATIONAL EVALUA- 21 TIONS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 23 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall re- 24 vise existing policies for manufacturers of large transport 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3866 IS category airplanes that are expected to be operated for 1 passenger air transportation under part 121 of title 14, 2 Code of Federal Regulations, to ensure that pilot oper- 3 ational evaluations for airplanes that are in the process 4 of being certified use pilots from foreign and domestic air 5 carriers that are expected to operate such airplanes. 6 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The air carrier pilots used for 7 such evaluations shall include a representative sample of 8 such carriers’ pilots with respect to levels of experience. 9 SEC. 9. REVIEW OF FAA CERTIFICATION EXPERTISE. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 11 date of enactment of this Act, and without duplicating any 12 recently completed or ongoing reviews, the Administrator 13 shall initiate a review of— 14 (1) the inspectors, engineers, managers, and ex- 15 ecutives in the FAA who are responsible for the cer- 16 tification of the design, manufacture, and operation 17 of transport category aircraft for purposes of deter- 18 mining whether the FAA has the expertise and capa- 19 bility to adequately understand the safety implica- 20 tions of, and oversee the adoption of, new or innova- 21 tive technologies, materials, and procedures that de- 22 signers and manufacturers of such aircraft may 23 adopt or introduce; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3866 IS (2) the Chief Scientific and Technical Advisors 1 program to determine whether the program should 2 be enhanced or expanded to bolster and support the 3 FAA’s aircraft certification and safety programs, 4 particularly with respect to understanding the safety 5 implications of new or innovative technologies, mate- 6 rials, and procedures, that designers and manufac- 7 turers of such aircraft may adopt or introduce. 8 (b) OUTSIDE EXPERTS PERMITTED.—The Adminis- 9 trator may use experts outside of the FAA to conduct or 10 assist in the review required by subsection (a). 11 (c) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Not later than 12 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad- 13 ministrator shall complete the review required by sub- 14 section (a). 15 (d) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days after the 16 completion of the review required by subsection (a), the 17 Administrator shall brief the appropriate committees of 18 Congress on the results of the review and any other related 19 review. The briefing shall include the following: 20 (1) An analysis of the FAA’s ability to hire 21 safety inspectors, engineers, managers, executives, 22 scientists, and technical advisors, who have the req- 23 uisite expertise to oversee new developments in aero- 24 space design and manufacturing. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3866.IS S3866 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3866 IS (2) A plan for the FAA to improve the overall 1 expertise of the FAA’s personnel who are responsible 2 for the oversight of the design and manu [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]