Aircraft Safety and Certification Reform Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3969 To amend title 49, United States Code, to reform the Federal Aviation Administration’s aircraft certification process, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 16, 2020 Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. CANTWELL) 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 reform the Fed- eral Aviation Administration’s aircraft certification proc- ess, 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 and 4 Certification Reform 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3969 IS Sec. 5. Organization designation authorization. Sec. 6. Best practices for organization designation authorizations. Sec. 7. Review of human factors assumptions. Sec. 8. Human factors research. Sec. 9. FAA center of excellence for flight automation and human factors in aircraft. Sec. 10. Certification pilot operational evaluations. Sec. 11. FAA continuing education and training. Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations for scientific and technical advisors. Sec. 13. Prohibition on certain performance-based incentives. Sec. 14. Safety reporting program. Sec. 15. Protection of whistleblowers. Sec. 16. Repeal of design and production organization certificate authority. Sec. 17. Ensuring appropriate responsibility of aircraft certification and flight standards performance objectives and metrics. Sec. 18. 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3969 IS duction certificate issued pursuant to section 44704 1 of title 49, United States Code, where the United 2 States is the State of Design and State of Manufac- 3 ture, have in place a safety management system that 4 is consistent with the standards established by the 5 International Civil Aviation Organization for such 6 systems. 7 (2) AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE.—Not 8 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 9 this Act, the Administrator shall establish an avia- 10 tion rulemaking committee to make recommenda- 11 tions on the rulemaking to be carried out under 12 paragraph (1). 13 (b) FINAL RULE DEADLINE.—Not later than 24 14 months after establishing the aviation rulemaking com- 15 mittee under subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall 16 issue a final rule pursuant to the rulemaking proceeding 17 required under subsection (a). 18 (c) SURVEILLANCE AND AUDIT REQUIREMENT.— 19 The final rule issued pursuant to subsection (b) shall in- 20 clude a requirement for the Administrator to implement 21 a documented surveillance process by defining and plan- 22 ning inspections, audits, and monitoring activities on a 23 continuous basis, to ensure that design and production ap- 24 proval holders of aviation products meet and continue to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3969 IS meet safety management system requirements under the 1 rule. 2 SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION AUTHORIZATION. 3 (a) APPROVAL OF ODA UNIT MEMBERS.—Section 4 44736 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by add- 5 ing at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF ODA UNIT MEMBERS.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that 8 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this sub- 9 section, each individual who is a new member of an 10 ODA unit of an ODA holder and performs an au- 11 thorized function pursuant to a delegation by the 12 Administrator under section 44702(d) shall be an 13 employee, a contractor, or the employee of a supplier 14 of the ODA holder who is approved to be a member 15 of the unit by the Administrator. The ODA holder 16 may make provisional appointments of ODA unit 17 members pending final approval by the Adminis- 18 trator. The Administrator shall approve or reject ap- 19 pointments within 120 days. 20 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—In approving appoint- 21 ments to an ODA unit, the Administrator shall take 22 into account the technical proficiency and expertise 23 of individuals. The Administrator shall issue min- 24 imum qualifications for ODA members that are sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3969 IS ject to approval by the Administrator pursuant to 1 paragraph (1). 2 ‘‘(3) RESCISSION OF APPROVAL.—The Adminis- 3 trator may rescind an approval of an appointment to 4 a ODA unit at any time for any reason the Adminis- 5 trator considers appropriate. The Administrator 6 shall develop procedures to provide for proper notice 7 and opportunity to appeal rescission decisions made 8 by the Administrator. Such decisions by the Admin- 9 istrator are not subject to judicial review. 10 ‘‘(4) RECORDS AND REPORTS.—An ODA holder 11 shall maintain, for a period to be determined by the 12 Administrator— 13 ‘‘(A) any data, applications, records, or 14 manuals required by the ODA holder’s ap- 15 proved procedures manual, as determined by 16 the Administrator; 17 ‘‘(B) the names, responsibilities, qualifica- 18 tions, and example signature of each member of 19 the ODA unit who performs an authorized 20 function pursuant to a delegation by the Ad- 21 ministrator under section 44702(d); 22 ‘‘(C) training records for ODA unit mem- 23 bers and ODA administrators; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3969 IS ‘‘(D) any other data, applications, records, 1 or manuals determined appropriate by the Ad- 2 ministrator. 3 ‘‘(5) AUDITS.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 5 shall perform a periodic audit of each ODA unit 6 and its procedures. 7 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—An audit required under 8 subparagraph (A) shall be performed with re- 9 spect to an ODA holder once every 3 years (or 10 more frequently as determined appropriate by 11 the Administrator). 12 ‘‘(C) RECORDS.—The ODA holder shall 13 maintain, for a period to be determined by the 14 Administrator, a record of— 15 ‘‘(i) each audit conducted under this 16 paragraph; and 17 ‘‘(ii) any corrective actions resulting 18 from each such audit. 19 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL AVIATION SAFETY ADVISORS.—For 20 ODA holders that are manufacturers that hold both a type 21 and a production certificate for transport category air- 22 planes with a maximum takeoff gross weight greater than 23 150,000 pounds and manufacturers of engines for such 24 airplanes, the Administrator shall assign FAA aviation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3969 IS safety engineers or inspectors with appropriate expertise 1 to be advisors to the ODA unit members that are author- 2 ized to make findings of compliance on behalf of the Ad- 3 ministrator. Advisors shall communicate with assigned 4 unit members on an ongoing basis to ensure that they are 5 knowledgeable of relevant FAA policies and acceptable 6 methods of compliance and shall monitor their perform- 7 ances to ensure consistency with those policies. 8 ‘‘(f) COMMUNICATION WITH THE FAA.—Neither the 9 Administrator nor an ODA holder may prohibit an ODA 10 unit member from communicating with, or seeking the ad- 11 vice of, the Administrator or FAA staff.’’. 12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2022, 13 the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate commit- 14 tees of Congress a report on the implementation of sub- 15 sections (d) through (f) of section 44736 of title 49, 16 United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 17 SEC. 6. BEST PRACTICES FOR ORGANIZATION DESIGNA- 18 TION AUTHORIZATIONS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 213 of the FAA Reau- 20 thorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254, 132 Stat. 21 3249) is amended— 22 (1) by striking subsection (g); 23 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 24 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3969 IS (3) by inserting after subsection (b), the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘(c) BEST PRACTICES REVIEW.—In addition to con- 3 ducting the survey required under subsection (b), the 4 Panel shall conduct a review of all ODA holders to identify 5 and develop best practices. At a minimum, the best prac- 6 tices shall address preventing and deterring instances of 7 undue pressure on or by an ODA unit member, within an 8 ODA, or by an ODA holder, or instances of perceived reg- 9 ulatory coziness or other failures to maintain independ- 10 ence between the FAA and an ODA holder or ODA unit 11 member. In carrying out such review, the Panel shall— 12 ‘‘(1) examine other government regulated indus- 13 tries to gather lessons learned, procedures, or proc- 14 esses that address undue pressure of employees, per- 15 ceived regulatory coziness, or other failures to main- 16 tain independence; 17 ‘‘(2) identify ways to improve communications 18 between an ODA Administrator, ODA unit mem- 19 bers, and FAA engineers and inspectors, consistent 20 with section 44736(g) of title 49, United States 21 Code, in order to enable direct communication of 22 technical concerns that arise during a certification 23 project without fear of reprisal to the ODA Adminis- 24 trator or ODA unit member; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3969 IS ‘‘(3) examine the FAA Designee Program, in- 1 cluding the assignment of FAA advisors to des- 2 ignees, to determine which components of the pro- 3 gram may improve the FAA’s oversight of ODA 4 units, ODA unit members, and the ODA program.’’; 5 (4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para- 6 graph (2))— 7 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and redesig- 8 nating paragraphs (4) through (6) as para- 9 graphs (3) through (5), respectively; 10 (B) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by 11 subparagraph (A)), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 12 end; 13 (C) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), 14 by striking the period at the end and inserting 15 ‘‘; and’’; and 16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(6) the results of the review conducted under 18 subsection (c).’’; and 19 (5) by inserting after subsection (g) (as redesig- 20 nated by paragraph (2)), the following: 21 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES ADOPTION.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 23 after the date on which the Administrator receives 24 the report required under subsection (e), the Admin- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3969 IS istrator shall establish best practices for all ODA 1 holders and require such practices, as appropriate, 2 to be incorporated into each ODA holder’s approved 3 procedures manual. 4 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND COMMENT PERIOD.—The Ad- 5 ministrator shall publish the established best prac- 6 tices for public notice and comment for not fewer 7 than 60 days prior to requiring the practices, as ap- 8 propriate, be incorporated into each ODA holder’s 9 approved procedures manual. 10 ‘‘(i) SUNSET.—The Panel shall terminate on the ear- 11 lier of— 12 ‘‘(1) the date of submission of the report under 13 subsection (e); or 14 ‘‘(2) the date that is 2 years after the date on 15 which the Panel is first convened under subsection 16 (a).’’. 17 (b) PROCEDURES MANUAL.—Section 44736(b)(3) of 18 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 19 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ 20 after the semicolon at the end; 21 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period 22 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3969 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. 7. 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, in- 11 cluding, but not limited to, sections 25.1302, 25.1309, and 12 25.1322 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and sup- 13 porting policies, guidelines, and advisory circulars, to inte- 14 grate and emphasize human factors and human system 15 integration, particularly those related to pilot and aircraft 16 interfaces. 17 (b) REVIEW.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Ad- 18 ministrator shall— 19 (1) review existing assumptions on pilot rec- 20 ognition and response, including response to safety- 21 significant failure conditions, as part of the certifi- 22 cation process; 23 (2) validate such assumptions with applicable 24 human factors research and the input of human fac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with [Text truncated for display. 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