Helicopter Safety Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3946 To require certain helicopters to be equipped with safety technologies, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 11, 2020 Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. GILLI- BRAND, Mr. MARKEY, and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require certain helicopters to be equipped with safety technologies, 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 ‘‘Helicopter Safety Act 4 of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3946.IS S3946 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3946 IS (1) The January 26, 2020, helicopter crash 1 near Calabasas, California, in which 9 individuals 2 lost their lives, was a tragic event. 3 (2) Officials from the National Transportation 4 Safety Board (NTSB) have noted that the helicopter 5 involved in the fatal January crash was not equipped 6 with a Flight Data Recorder (FDR), a Cockpit 7 Voice Recorder (CVR), or a Terrain Awareness and 8 Warning System (TAWS). 9 (3) The NTSB has investigated numerous trag- 10 ic helicopter accidents, including the crash of a heli- 11 copter in the Gulf of Mexico in 2004, in which 10 12 individuals lost their lives, and a crash in Missouri 13 in 2011, in which 4 individuals lost their lives. 14 (4) The NTSB has provided recommendations 15 to the FAA regarding equipping helicopters with 16 crash-resistant Flight Data Recorders, Cockpit Voice 17 Recorders, and Terrain Awareness and Warning 18 Systems. 19 (5) The FAA has not acted on several NTSB 20 recommendations for increased helicopter safety 21 technologies that could potentially avert future trag- 22 edies. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3946.IS S3946 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3946 IS SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 2 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 3 this Act, the Administrator shall issue such regulations 4 as are necessary to implement the following NTSB rec- 5 ommendations for crash-resistant systems, but only with 6 respect to existing and new U.S.-registered turbine-pow- 7 ered rotorcraft certificated for six or more passenger seats: 8 (1) Safety Recommendation A–06–017, issued 9 on March 7, 2006 (relating to requiring all rotor- 10 craft operating under parts 91 and 135 of title 14, 11 Code of Federal Regulations, with a transport-cat- 12 egory certification to be equipped with a cockpit 13 voice recorder (CVR) and a flight data recorder 14 (FDR) or an onboard cockpit image recorder with 15 the capability of recording cockpit audio, crew com- 16 munications, and aircraft parametric data). 17 (2) Safety Recommendation A–06–018, issued 18 on March 7, 2006 (relating to not permitting exemp- 19 tions or exceptions to the flight recorder regulations 20 that allow transport-category rotorcraft to operate 21 without flight recorders, and withdrawing exemp- 22 tions and exceptions that allow transport-category 23 rotorcraft to operate without flight recorders). 24 (3) Safety Recommendation A–06–019 issued 25 on March 24, 2006 (relating to requiring all existing 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3946.IS S3946 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3946 IS and new U.S.-registered turbine-powered rotorcraft 1 certificated for six or more passenger seats to be 2 equipped with a terrain awareness and warning sys- 3 tem). 4 (b) TIMING FOR EQUIPMENT COMPLIANCE.—The 5 regulations required to be issued under subsection (a) 6 shall require all U.S.-registered turbine-powered rotorcraft 7 certificated for six or more passenger seats to be equipped 8 with a Flight Data Recorder, a Cockpit Voice Recorder, 9 and a Terrain Awareness and Warning System that each 10 meet the respective requirements applicable under such 11 regulations, not later than— 12 (1) 1 year after the date on which the applica- 13 ble regulation is issued; or 14 (2) 2 years after the date on which the applica- 15 ble regulation is issued, if the Administrator deter- 16 mines appropriate. 17 (c) EXEMPTIONS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In issuing the regulations 19 required under subsection (a), the Administrator 20 may exempt any civilian helicopter that the Adminis- 21 trator determines appropriate from one or more of 22 the equipment requirements of such regulations. 23 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Administrator 24 issues a final regulation that contains an exemption 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3946.IS S3946 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3946 IS described in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 1 submit to the Committee on Transportation and In- 2 frastructure of the House of Representatives the 3 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep- 4 resentatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, 5 and Transportation of the Senate, and the Com- 6 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate a report de- 7 scribing the exemption, not later than the date on 8 which the final regulation is issued. 9 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this Act: 11 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 12 trator’’ means the Administrator of the FAA. 13 (2) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed- 14 eral Aviation Administration. 15 (3) NTSB.—The term ‘‘NTSB’’ means the Na- 16 tional Transportation Safety Board. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3946.IS S3946 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS