[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6448 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6448
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
conduct a study to compare the effects of allowing certain aircraft
certified under part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to
operate under part 121 of such title, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 17, 2023
Mr. Mann (for himself and Mr. Magaziner) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
conduct a study to compare the effects of allowing certain aircraft
certified under part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to
operate under part 121 of such title, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. STUDY ON SAFETY AND AIRWORTHINESS OF CERTAIN AIRCRAFT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall conduct a study on the effects of allowing post-
2017 aircraft to operate under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(b) Considerations.--In conducting the study under subsection (a),
the Administrator shall consider--
(1) actions that Congress may take to incentivize aircraft
manufacturers to produce aircraft that are right-sized to serve
small communities;
(2) recommendations of the National Transportation Safety
Board contained in Safety Study 94/02, titled ``Commuter
Airline Safety'', and published by the Board in November 1994;
(3) the final rule of the Federal Aviation Administration,
titled ``Commuter Operations and General Certification and
Operations Requirements'', and published on December 20, 1995
(60 Fed. Reg. 65832); and
(4) the operational disadvantages that air carriers face
due to Federal regulations compared with foreign air carriers
using post-2017 aircraft.
(c) Composition of Study Group.--In conducting the study under
subsection (a), the Administrator shall coordinate with, and solicit
comments and input from an independent study group, which shall be
comprised of the following members appointed by the Administrator:
(1) Representatives of the aviation industry.
(2) Representatives of small, rural, and remote communities
affected by decreasing scheduled airline service, as well as
communities in which subsidies are provided pursuant to
subchapter II of chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code.
(3) Aviation safety experts with specific knowledge of
aircraft airworthiness requirements under part 23 and part 25
of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
(d) Report to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall complete the
study required under subsection (a) and submit to the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representative and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Technology of the Senate a report on such study.
(2) Contents.--The Administrator shall include in the
report required under paragraph (1)--
(A) a comparison of the safety of pre-1995 aircraft
with the safety of post-2017 aircraft;
(B) a description of the number of pre-1995
aircraft that are used for commercial purposes as of
the date of enactment of this Act;
(C) an assessment of whether air carriers operating
under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations, would purchase post-2017 aircraft for
commercial purposes; and
(D) an assessment of the economic need of scheduled
airline service of small and rural communities and the
longstanding challenges of improving scheduled service
to these communities.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Pre-1995 aircraft.--The term ``pre-1995 aircraft''
means passenger aircraft with at least 10 and not more than 19
seats that were certified under part 23 of title 14, Code of
Federal Regulations, before March 29, 1995, and that operate
under part 121 of such title.
(2) Post-2017 aircraft.--The term ``post-2017 aircraft''
means passenger aircraft with at least 10 and not more than 19
seats certified under part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations, after August 30, 2017.
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