[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2554 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2554

   To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a program for 
         Federal flight deck officers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 23, 2002

Mr. Smith of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. Miller, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. 
 Burns, Mr. Bunning, and Mr. Thurmond) 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 establish a program for 
         Federal flight deck officers, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Arming Pilots Against Terrorism and 
Cabin Defense Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL FLIGHT DECK OFFICER PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 449 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 44921. Federal flight deck officer program
    ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of the Arming Pilots Against Terrorism and Cabin Defense Act 
of 2002, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security shall 
establish a program to deputize qualified pilots of commercial cargo or 
passenger aircraft who volunteer for the program as Federal law 
enforcement officers to defend the flight decks of commercial aircraft 
of air carriers engaged in air transportation or intrastate air 
transportation against acts of criminal violence or air piracy. Such 
officers shall be known as `Federal flight deck officers'. The program 
shall be administered in connection with the Federal air marshal 
program.
    ``(b) Qualified Pilot.--Under the program described in subsection 
(a), a qualified pilot is a pilot of an aircraft engaged in air 
transportation or intrastate air transportation who--
            ``(1) is employed by an air carrier;
            ``(2) has demonstrated fitness to be a Federal flight deck 
        officer in accordance with regulations promulgated pursuant to 
        this title; and
            ``(3) has been the subject of an employment investigation 
        (including a criminal history record check) under section 
        44936(a)(1).
    ``(c) Training, Supervision, and Equipment.--The Under Secretary of 
Transportation for Security shall provide or make arrangements for 
training, supervision, and equipment necessary for a qualified pilot to 
be a Federal flight deck officer under this section at no expense to 
the pilot or the air carrier employing the pilot. The Under Secretary 
may approve private training programs which meet the Under Secretary's 
specifications and guidelines. Air carriers shall make accommodations 
to facilitate the training of their pilots as Federal flight deck 
officers and shall facilitate Federal flight deck officers in the 
conduct of their duties under this program.
    ``(d) Deputization.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Under Secretary of Transportation 
        for Security shall train and deputize, as a Federal flight deck 
        officer under this section, any qualified pilot who submits to 
        the Under Secretary a request to be such an officer.
            ``(2) Initial deputization.--Not later than 120 days after 
        the date of enactment of this section, the Under Secretary 
        shall deputize not fewer than 500 qualified pilots who are 
        former military or law enforcement personnel as Federal flight 
        deck officers under this section.
            ``(3) Full implementation.--Not later than 24 months after 
        the date of enactment of this section, the Under Secretary 
        shall deputize any qualified pilot as a Federal flight deck 
        officer under this section.
    ``(e) Compensation.--Pilots participating in the program under this 
section shall not be eligible for compensation from the Federal 
Government for services provided as a Federal flight deck officer.
    ``(f) Authority To Carry Firearms.--The Under Secretary of 
Transportation for Security shall authorize a Federal flight deck 
officer under this section to carry a firearm to defend the flight deck 
of a commercial passenger or cargo aircraft while engaged in providing 
air transportation or intrastate air transportation. No air carrier may 
prohibit a Federal flight deck officer from carrying a firearm in 
accordance with the provisions of the Arming Pilots Against Terrorism 
and Cabin Defense Act of 2002.
    ``(g) Authority To Use Force.--Notwithstanding section 44903(d), a 
Federal flight deck officer may use force (including lethal force) 
against an individual in the defense of a commercial aircraft in air 
transportation or intrastate air transportation if the officer 
reasonably believes that the security of the aircraft is at risk.
    ``(h) Limitation on Liability.--
            ``(1) Liability of air carriers.--An air carrier shall not 
        be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or 
        State court arising out of the air carrier employing a pilot of 
        an aircraft who is a Federal flight deck officer under this 
        section or out of the acts or omissions of the pilot in 
        defending an aircraft of the air carrier against acts of 
        criminal violence or air piracy.
            ``(2) Liability of federal flight deck officers.--A Federal 
        flight deck officer shall not be liable for damages in any 
        action brought in a Federal or State court arising out of the 
        acts or omissions of the officer in defending an aircraft 
        against acts of criminal violence or air piracy unless the 
        officer is guilty of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
            ``(3) Employee status of federal flight deck officers.--A 
        Federal flight deck officer shall be considered an `employee of 
        the Government while acting within the scope of his office or 
        employment' with respect to any act or omission of the officer 
        in defending an aircraft against acts of criminal violence or 
        air piracy, for purposes of sections 1346(b), 2401(b), and 2671 
through 2680 of title 28 United States Code.
    ``(i) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Under Secretary of Transportation for 
Security, in consultation with the Firearms Training Unit of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall issue regulations to carry out 
this section.
    ``(j) Pilot Defined.--In this section, the term `pilot' means an 
individual who is responsible for the operation of an aircraft, and 
includes a co-pilot or other member of the flight deck crew.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Chapter analysis.--The analysis for such chapter 449 is 
        amended by inserting after the item relating to section 44920 
        the following new item:

``44921. Federal flight deck officer program.''.
            (2) Employment investigations.--Section 44936(a)(1)(B) is 
        amended--
                    (A) by aligning clause (iii) with clause (ii);
                    (B) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (iii);
                    (C) by striking the period at the end of clause 
                (iv) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(v) qualified pilots who are deputized as 
                        Federal flight deck officers under section 
                        44921.''.
            (3) Flight deck security.--Section 128 of the Aviation and 
        Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 44903 note) is repealed.

SEC. 3. CABIN SECURITY.

    (a) Technical Amendments.--Section 44903, of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (h) (relating to authority 
        to arm flight deck crew with less-than-lethal weapons, as added 
        by section 126(b) of public law 107-71) as subsection (j); and
            (2) by redesignating subsection (h) (relating to limitation 
        on liability for acts to thwart criminal violence or aircraft 
        piracy, as added by section 144 of public law 107-71) as 
        subsection (k).
    (b) Aviation Crewmember Self-Defense Division.--Section 44918 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following 
        new subsection:
    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Requirement for air carriers.--Not later than 60 days 
        after the date of enactment of the Arming Pilots Against 
        Terrorism and Cabin Defense Act of 2002, the Under Secretary of 
        Transportation for Security, shall prescribe detailed 
        requirements for an air carrier cabin crew training program, 
        and for the instructors of that program as described in 
        subsection (b) to prepare crew members for potential threat 
        conditions. In developing the requirements, the Under Secretary 
        shall consult with appropriate law enforcement personnel who 
        have expertise in self-defense training, security experts, and 
        terrorism experts, and representatives of air carriers and 
        labor organizations representing individuals employed in 
        commercial aviation.
            ``(2) Aviation crewmember self-defense division.--Not later 
        than 60 days after the date of enactment of the Arming Pilots 
        Against Terrorism and Cabin Defense Act of 2002, the Under 
        Secretary of Transportation for Security shall establish an 
        Aviation Crew Self-Defense Division within the Transportation 
        Security Administration. The Division shall develop and 
        administer the implementation of the requirements described in 
        this section. The Under Secretary shall appoint a Director of 
        the Aviation Crew Self-Defense Division who shall be the head 
        of the Division. The Director shall report to the Under 
        Secretary. In the selection of the Director, the Under 
        Secretary shall solicit recommendations from law enforcement, 
        air carriers, and labor organizations representing individuals 
        employed in commercial aviation. The Director shall have a 
        background in self-defense training, including military or law 
        enforcement training with an emphasis in teaching self-defense 
        and the appropriate use force. Regional training supervisors 
        shall be under the control of the Director and shall have 
        appropriate training and experience in teaching self-defense 
        and the appropriate use of force.'';
            (2) by striking subsection (b), and inserting the following 
        new subsection:
    ``(b) Program Elements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The requirements prescribed under 
        subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, 28 hours of self-
        defense training that incorporates classroom and situational 
        training that contains the following elements:
                    ``(A) Determination of the seriousness of any 
                occurrence.
                    ``(B) Crew communication and coordination.
                    ``(C) Appropriate responses to defend oneself, 
                including a minimum of 16 hours of hands-on training, 
                with reasonable and effective requirements on time 
                allotment over a 4 week period, in the following levels 
                of self-defense:
                            ``(i) awareness, deterrence, and avoidance;
                            ``(ii) verbalization;
                            ``(iii) empty hand control;
                            ``(iv) intermediate weapons and self-
                        defense techniques; and
                            ``(v) deadly force.
                    ``(D) Use of protective devices assigned to 
                crewmembers (to the extent such devices are approved by 
                the Administrator or Under Secretary).
                    ``(E) Psychology of terrorists to cope with 
                hijacker behavior and passenger responses.
                    ``(F) Live situational simulation joint training 
                exercises regarding various threat conditions, 
                including all of the elements required by this section.
                    ``(G) Flight deck procedures or aircraft maneuvers 
                to defend the aircraft.
            ``(2) Program elements for instructors.--The requirements 
        prescribed under subsection (a) shall contain program elements 
        for instructors that include, at a minimum, the following:
                    ``(A) A certification program for the instructors 
                who will provide the training described in paragraph 
                (1).
                    ``(B) A requirement that no training session shall 
                have fewer than 1 instructor for every 12 students.
                    ``(C) A requirement that air carriers provide 
                certain instructor information, including names and 
                qualifications, to the Aviation Crew Member Self-
                Defense Division within 30 days after receiving the 
                requirements described in subsection (a).
                    ``(D) Training course curriculum lesson plans and 
                performance objectives to be used by instructors.
                    ``(E) Written training bulletins to reinforce 
                course lessons and provide necessary progressive 
                updates to instructors.
            ``(3) Recurrent training.--Each air carrier shall provide 
        the training under the program every 6 months after the 
        completion of the initial training.
            ``(4) Initial training.--Air carriers shall provide the 
        initial training under the program within 24 months of the date 
        of enactment of the Arming Pilots Against Terrorism and Cabin 
        Defense Act of 2002.
            ``(5) Communication devices.--The requirements described in 
        subsection (a) shall include a provision mandating that air 
        carriers provide flight and cabin crew with a discreet, hands-
        free, wireless method of communicating with the flight deck.''; 
        and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(f) Rulemaking Authority.--Notwithstanding subsection (j) 
(relating to authority to arm flight deck crew with less than-lethal 
weapons) of section 44903, of this title, within 180 days after the 
date of enactment of the Arming Pilots Against Terrorism and Cabin 
Defense Act of 2002, the Under Secretary of Transportation for 
Security, in consultation with persons described in subsection (a)(1), 
shall prescribe regulations requiring air carriers to--
            ``(1) provide adequate training in the proper conduct of a 
        cabin search and allow adequate duty time to perform such a 
        search; and
            ``(2) conduct a preflight security briefing with flight 
        deck and cabin crew and, when available, Federal air marshals 
        or other authorized law enforcement officials.
    ``(g) Limitation on Liability.--
            ``(1) Air carriers.--An air carrier shall not be liable for 
        damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court 
        arising out of the acts or omissions of the air carrier's 
        training instructors or cabin crew using reasonable and 
        necessary force in defending an aircraft of the air carrier 
        against acts of criminal violence or air piracy.
            ``(2) Training instructors and cabin crew.--An air 
        carrier's training instructors or cabin crew shall not be 
        liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State 
        court arising out of an act or omission of a training 
        instructor or a member of the cabin crew regarding the defense 
        of an aircraft against acts of criminal violence or air piracy 
        unless the crew member is guilty of gross negligence or willful 
        misconduct.''.
    (c) Nonlethal Weapons for Flight Attendants.--
            (1) Study.--The Under Secretary of Transportation for 
        Security shall conduct a study to determine whether possession 
        of a nonlethal weapon by a member of an air carrier's cabin 
        crew would aid the flight deck crew in combating air piracy and 
        criminal violence on commercial airlines.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Transportation 
        for Security shall prepare and submit to Congress a report on 
        the study conducted under paragraph (1).
                                 <all>