[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1626 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1626

To improve the safety of the air supply on commercial aircraft, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2017

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Markey) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve the safety of the air supply on commercial aircraft, 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 ``Cabin Air Safety Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. COMMERCIAL AIR CARRIER DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``commercial air carrier'' means an air 
carrier operating under part 121 or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations.

SEC. 3. TRAINING TO RESPOND TO SMOKE OR FUME INCIDENTS ON AIRCRAFT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall prescribe regulations requiring flight attendants, 
pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, and airport first responders 
and emergency response teams to receive training, not less frequently 
than annually, on how to respond to incidents on board aircraft 
involving smoke or fumes.
    (b) Requirements.--The training required by subsection (a) shall 
include the dissemination of educational materials with respect to the 
following:
            (1) Sources and types of smoke and fumes on board aircraft.
            (2) Odor and visual descriptors to allow an individual to 
        recognize the presence of oil and hydraulic fluid fumes and 
        other potentially hazardous fumes, such as fumes relating to 
        hydraulic fluid, engine exhaust, ground service vehicle 
        exhaust, fuel, de-icing fluid, and ozone.
            (3) The potential for acute or chronic impairment to an 
        individual relating to such fumes.
            (4) Procedures for recognizing and responding to smoke and 
        fumes on board aircraft.
            (5) An overview of the system for reporting incidents of 
        smoke or fumes on board aircraft established under section 
        4(a)(2).
            (6) Requirements relating to reporting incidents of smoke 
        and fumes on board aircraft to the Federal Aviation 
        Administration under sections 4 and 6(b).

SEC. 4. REPORTING OF INCIDENTS OF SMOKE OR FUMES ON BOARD AIRCRAFT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall--
            (1) develop a standardized form for flight attendants, 
        pilots, and aircraft maintenance technicians to report 
        incidents of smoke or fumes on board an aircraft operated by a 
        commercial air carrier; and
            (2) establish a system for reporting incidents of smoke or 
        fumes on board aircraft that allows--
                    (A) pilots, flight attendants, and aircraft 
                maintenance technicians to submit the form developed 
                under paragraph (1) to the Federal Aviation 
                Administration; and
                    (B) pilots, flight attendants, aircraft maintenance 
                technicians, and commercial air carriers to search the 
                reported incidents database compiled by the Federal 
                Aviation Administration for the purposes of reviewing 
                and monitoring incidents contained in the database and 
                assisting with investigations conducted under section 
                5.
    (b) Content of Forms.--The form developed under subsection (a)(1) 
for reporting an incident of smoke or fumes on board an aircraft shall 
include sections for the following information:
            (1) Identification of the flight, the type of aircraft, the 
        registration number of the aircraft, and the individual 
        reporting the incident.
            (2) Information about the smoke or a fire, if relevant, 
        including a description of the nature and apparent source of 
        the smoke or fire.
            (3) Information about the fumes, including a description of 
        the type, apparent source, smell, and visual consistency (if 
        any) of the smoke or fumes.
            (4) Information about the location of the smoke or fumes.
            (5) Information about the engine manufacturer, engine type, 
        the engine serial number, and the age of the engine.
            (6) Information about the phase of flight during which 
        smoke or fumes were present.
            (7) Other observations about the smoke or fumes.
            (8) A description of symptoms reported by crew members and 
        passengers.
            (9) Information with respect to whether crew members or 
        passengers used, needed, or were administered supplemental or 
        emergency oxygen.
            (10) Information regarding any effects on the operation of 
        the flight.
            (11) Information about maintenance work conducted on the 
        aircraft following the incident.
    (c) Public Availability of Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not less frequently than quarterly and 
        subject to paragraph (2), the Administrator of the Federal 
        Aviation Administration shall compile and make available to the 
        public the forms developed under subsection (a)(1) and 
        submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration.
            (2) Redaction.--Before making any forms available to the 
        public under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall redact any 
        personally identifiable information.
    (d) Website.--The Administrator shall develop a publicly available 
Internet website that contains a publicly searchable database of 
information on incidents of smoke or fumes on board aircraft operated 
by commercial air carriers that includes--
            (1) the materials required to be made available to the 
        public under subsection (c)(1);
            (2) materials for training crew members under section 3; 
        and
            (3) statistics with respect to such incidents, which shall 
        be disaggregated by air carrier, aircraft type, engine type, 
        oil type, cause, and such other criteria as the Administrator 
        considers appropriate.

SEC. 5. INVESTIGATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall prescribe regulations requiring the Federal 
Aviation Administration to conduct an investigation described in 
subsection (b), after a report is submitted to the Administration 
through the system for reporting incidents of smoke or fumes on board 
aircraft established under section 4(a)(2) and before the date that is 
7 days after the incident.
    (b) Requirements for Investigations.--An investigation described in 
this subsection shall include the following:
            (1) Gathering factual and standardized information from all 
        flight attendants, pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, 
        airport first responders, emergency response teams, and medical 
        doctors involved in the incident.
            (2) Gathering any reports submitted under section 4 with 
        respect to the incident.
            (3) Gathering technical findings on any replaced, worn, 
        missing, failed, or improperly serviced components that may 
        have resulted in the incident.
            (4) Identifying the cause of the incident, if possible.
    (c) Participation of Air Carriers and Collective Bargaining 
Representatives.--In conducting an investigation under this section, 
the Federal Aviation Administration shall--
            (1) consult with the commercial air carrier involved;
            (2) work in conjunction with the technical representatives 
        of the air carrier; and
            (3) invite the participation of the collective bargaining 
        representative of employees of the air carrier.

SEC. 6. BLEED AIR MONITORING EQUIPMENT.

    (a) Requirement To Include on Commercial Aircraft.--Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
of the Federal Aviation Administration shall prescribe regulations 
requiring a commercial air carrier to install and operate, by not later 
than one year after the regulations are published in the Federal 
Register, a carbon monoxide detector on each bleed air stream in 
locations on the aircraft that include the cockpit, the cabin, crew 
rest areas, and each crew galley of each aircraft operated by the air 
carrier--
            (1) to continuously monitor carbon monoxide levels in the 
        aircraft air supply system when the aircraft is in flight; and
            (2) to alert the pilot and flight attendants in the event 
        that carbon monoxide exceeds limits set forth in the national 
        primary ambient air quality standards under section 50.8 of 
        title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding 
        similar regulation or ruling), adjusted for application at 
        altitude.
    (b) Requirement for a Pilot To Report an Alarm.--The regulations 
prescribed under subsection (a) shall require a pilot to submit a form 
through the system for reporting incidents of smoke or fumes on board 
aircraft established under section 4(a)(2) if the alarm in a carbon 
monoxide detector activates during flight.
    (c) Inclusion of Information Relating to Carbon Monoxide Detectors 
in Aircraft Manuals.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall prescribe regulations requiring an aircraft 
manufacturer that manufactures aircraft for commercial air carriers to 
include procedures for responding to alarms from carbon monoxide 
detectors during normal and nonstandard operations in the flight 
operator's manual for each such aircraft produced by the manufacturer.
    (d) Continuing Research To Develop Sensors and Techniques To 
Monitor Bleed Air Quality.--The Federal Aviation Administration shall 
continue to research, study, and identify emerging technologies 
suitable to provide reliable warning of bleed air contamination, 
including through investigation and research into specific sensors, 
methods, and operational techniques to prevent fume events.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to imply that an investigation under section 5 is not necessary or that 
crew members and passengers have not been exposed to fumes if the alarm 
in a carbon monoxide detector installed on an aircraft is not 
activated.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Aviation 
Administration such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 8. EXCLUSION OF HELICOPTERS.

    The provisions of this Act do not apply to helicopters.
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