Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8408 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 18, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis- tration to require certain safety standards relating to 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 8408 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Safety management systems. Sec. 3. Expert review of organization designation authorizations for transport airplanes. Sec. 4. Certification oversight staff. Sec. 5. Disclosure of safety-critical information. Sec. 6. Periodic reviews of organization designation authorizations. Sec. 7. Limitations on delegation. Sec. 8. Oversight of organization designation authorization unit members. Sec. 9. Integrated project teams. Sec. 10. Oversight integrity briefing. Sec. 11. Appeals of certification decisions. Sec. 12. Employment restrictions. Sec. 13. Professional development and skills enhancement. Sec. 14. Voluntary safety reporting program. Sec. 15. Compensation limitation. Sec. 16. System safety assessments and other requirements. Sec. 17. Flight crew alerting. Sec. 18. Amended type certificates. Sec. 19. Whistleblower protections. Sec. 20. Pilot training. Sec. 21. Nonconformity with approved type design. Sec. 22. Implementation of recommendations. Sec. 23. Oversight of FAA compliance program. Sec. 24. Settlement agreement. Sec. 25. Human factors. Sec. 26. Technical corrections. Sec. 27. Definitions. SEC. 2. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall ini- 8 tiate a rulemaking proceeding to require each person who 9 holds both a type certificate and a production certificate 10 issued under section 44704 of title 49, United States 11 Code, to adopt, not later than the earlier of the date that 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 8408 RFS is 180 days after the issuance of the regulation required 1 under this subsection or the date that is 4 years after the 2 date of enactment of this Act, a safety management sys- 3 tem consistent with the standards and recommended prac- 4 tices contained in annex 19 to the Convention on Inter- 5 national Civil Aviation (61 Stat. 1180) in effect on the 6 earlier of the date of the issuance of such regulations or 7 the date that is 4 years after the date of enactment of 8 this Act. 9 (b) CONTENTS OF REGULATIONS.—The regulations 10 issued under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, include 11 provisions for the Administrator’s approval of, and regular 12 oversight of adherence to, a certificate holder’s safety 13 management system adopted pursuant to such regula- 14 tions. 15 (c) DEADLINE.—Not later than 12 months after the 16 end of the comment period for the proposed rule issued 17 pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator shall issue 18 a final rule with respect to such proposed rule. 19 (d) SAFETY REPORTING PROGRAM.—The regulations 20 issued under subsection (a) shall require a safety manage- 21 ment system to include a confidential employee reporting 22 system through which employees can report hazards, 23 issues, concerns, occurrences, and incidents. A reporting 24 system under this subsection shall include provisions for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 8408 RFS non-punitive reporting of such items by employees in a 1 manner consistent with other confidential employee re- 2 porting systems administered by the Administrator. Such 3 regulations shall also require a certificate holder described 4 in subsection (a) to submit a summary of reports received 5 under this subsection to the Administrator at least twice 6 per year. 7 (e) CODE OF ETHICS.—The regulations issued under 8 subsection (a) shall require a safety management system 9 to include establishment of a code of ethics applicable to 10 all employees of a certificate holder, including officers, 11 which clarifies that safety is the organization’s highest pri- 12 ority. 13 (f) PROTECTION OF SAFETY INFORMATION.—Section 14 44735(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 15 (1) by striking ‘‘title 5 if the report’’ and in- 16 serting the following: ‘‘title 5— 17 ‘‘(1) if the report’’; 18 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert- 19 ing ‘‘; or’’; and 20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(2) if the report, data, or other information is 22 submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration 23 pursuant to section 2(d) of the Aircraft Certification 24 Reform and Accountability Act.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 8408 RFS SEC. 3. EXPERT REVIEW OF ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION 1 AUTHORIZATIONS FOR TRANSPORT AIR- 2 PLANES. 3 (a) EXPERT REVIEW.— 4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis- 6 trator shall convene an expert panel (in this section 7 referred to as the ‘‘review panel’’) to review and 8 make findings and recommendations on the matters 9 listed in paragraph (2). 10 (2) CONTENTS OF REVIEW.—With respect to 11 each holder of an organization designation author- 12 ization for the design and production of transport 13 airplanes, the review panel shall review the following: 14 (A) The extent to which the holder has im- 15 plemented a safety culture consistent with the 16 principles of the International Civil Aviation 17 Organization Safety Management Manual, 18 Fourth Edition (International Civil Aviation 19 Organization Doc. No. 9589) or any similar 20 successor document. 21 (B) The effectiveness of measures insti- 22 tuted by the holder to instill, among employees 23 and contractors of such holder that support or- 24 ganization designation authorization functions, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 8408 RFS a commitment to safety above all other prior- 1 ities. 2 (C) The holder’s capability, based on the 3 holder’s organizational structures, requirements 4 applicable to officers and employees of such 5 holder, and safety culture, of making reasonable 6 and appropriate decisions regarding functions 7 delegated to the holder pursuant to the organi- 8 zation designation authorization. 9 (D) Any other matter determined by the 10 Administrator for which inclusion in the review 11 would be consistent with the public interest in 12 aviation safety. 13 (3) COMPOSITION OF REVIEW PANEL.—The re- 14 view panel shall consist of— 15 (A) 2 representatives of the National Aero- 16 nautics and Space Administration; 17 (B) 2 employees of the Administration’s 18 Aircraft Certification Service with experience 19 conducting oversight of persons not involved in 20 the design or production of transport airplanes; 21 (C) 1 employee of the Administration’s 22 Aircraft Certification Service with experience 23 conducting oversight of persons involved in the 24 design or production of transport airplanes; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 8408 RFS (D) 2 employees of the Administration’s 1 Flight Standards Service with experience in 2 oversight of safety management systems; 3 (E) 1 appropriately qualified representa- 4 tive, designated by the applicable represented 5 organization, of each of— 6 (i) a labor union representing airline 7 pilots involved in both passenger and all- 8 cargo operations; 9 (ii) a labor union, not selected under 10 clause (i), representing airline pilots with 11 expertise in the matters described in para- 12 graph (2); 13 (iii) a labor union representing em- 14 ployees engaged in the assembly of trans- 15 port airplanes; 16 (iv) the certified bargaining represent- 17 ative under section 7111 of title 5, United 18 States Code, for field engineers engaged in 19 the audit or oversight of an organization 20 designation authorization within the Air- 21 craft Certification Service of the Adminis- 22 tration; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 8408 RFS (v) the certified bargaining represent- 1 ative for safety inspectors of the Adminis- 2 tration; 3 (F) 2 independent experts who have not 4 served as a political appointee in the Adminis- 5 tration and— 6 (i) who hold either a baccalaureate or 7 postgraduate degree in the field of aero- 8 space engineering or a related discipline; 9 and 10 (ii) who have a minimum of 20 years 11 of relevant applied experience; 12 (G) 4 air carrier employees whose job re- 13 sponsibilities include administration of a safety 14 management system; and 15 (H) 4 individuals representing 4 different 16 holders of organization designation authoriza- 17 tions, with preference given to individuals rep- 18 resenting holders of organization designation 19 authorizations for the design or production of 20 aircraft other than transport airplanes or for 21 the design or production of aircraft engines, 22 propellers, or appliances. 23 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The review panel 24 shall make recommendations to the Administrator 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 8408 RFS regarding suggested actions to address any defi- 1 ciencies found after review of the matters listed in 2 paragraph (2). 3 (5) REPORT.— 4 (A) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 270 5 days after the date on which the review panel 6 is established, the review panel shall transmit to 7 the Administrator and the congressional com- 8 mittees of jurisdiction a report containing the 9 findings and recommendations of the review 10 panel regarding the matters listed in paragraph 11 (2), except that such report shall include— 12 (i) only such findings endorsed by 10 13 or more individual members of the review 14 panel; and 15 (ii) only such recommendations de- 16 scribed in paragraph (4) endorsed by 18 or 17 more of the individual members of the re- 18 view panel. 19 (B) DISSENTING VIEWS.—In submitting 20 the report required under this paragraph, the 21 review panel shall append to such report the 22 dissenting views of any individual member or 23 group of members of the review panel regarding 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 8408 RFS the findings or recommendations of the review 1 panel. 2 (C) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 5 days 3 after receiving the report under subparagraph 4 (A), the Administrator shall publish such re- 5 port, including any dissenting views appended 6 to the report, on the website of the Administra- 7 tion. 8 (D) TERMINATION.—The review panel 9 shall terminate upon submission of the report 10 under subparagraph (A). 11 (6) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 12 (A) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The re- 13 view panel shall have authority to perform the 14 following actions if a majority of the total num- 15 ber of review panel members consider each ac- 16 tion necessary and appropriate: 17 (i) Entering onto the premises of an 18 organization designation authorization 19 holder described in subsection (a) for ac- 20 cess to and inspection of records or other 21 purposes. 22 (ii) Notwithstanding any other provi- 23 sion of law, accessing and inspecting 24 unredacted records in the possession of an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 8408 RFS employee or appointed political official of 1 the Administration. 2 (iii) Interviewing employees of such 3 organization designation authorization 4 holder or the Administration as necessary 5 for the panel to complete its work. 6 (B) DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTER- 7 ESTS.—Each individual serving on the review 8 panel shall disclose to the Administrator any fi- 9 nancial interest held by such individual, or a 10 spouse or dependent of such individual, in a 11 business enterprise engaged in the design or 12 production of transport airplanes, aircraft en- 13 gines designed for transport airplanes, or major 14 systems, components, or parts thereof. The Ad- 15 ministrator shall publicly post such disclosure 16 on the website of the Administration in a de- 17 identified form. 18 (C) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFOR- 19 MATION; TRADE SECRETS.— 20 (i) MARKING.—The custodian of a 21 record accessed under subparagraph (A) 22 may mark such record as proprietary or 23 containing a trade secret. A marking under 24 this subparagraph shall not be dispositive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8408.RFS H8408 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 8408 RFS with respect to whether such record con- 1 tains any information subject to legal pro- 2 tections from public disclosure. 3 (ii) NONDISCLOSURE FOR NON-FED- 4 ERAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPANTS.— 5 (I) NON-FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 6 PARTICIPANTS.—Prior to partici- 7 pating on the review panel, each indi- 8 vidual serving on the review panel rep- 9 resenting a non-Federal entity, includ- 10 ing a labor union, shall execute an 11 agreement with the Administrator in 12 which the individual shall be prohib- 13 ited from disclosing at any time, ex- 14 cept as required by law, to any per- 15 son, foreign or domestic, any non-pub- 16 lic information made accessible to the 17 panel under subparagraph (A). 18 (II) FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PAR- 19 TICIPANTS.—Federal employees serv- 20 ing on the review panel as representa- 21 tives of the Federal Government and 22 who are required to protect propri- 23 etary information and trade secrets 24 under sectio [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]