[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2703 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2703

   To enhance the recognition of, and response to, aircraft failure 
                  conditions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 24, 2019

 Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To enhance the recognition of, and response to, aircraft failure 
                  conditions, 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 ``Aviation Automation and Human 
Factors Safety Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCING PILOT RECOGNITION OF, AND RESPONSE TO, FAILURE 
              CONDITIONS.

    (a) In General.--As recommended by the National Transportation 
Safety Board in Aviation Safety Recommendation Report ASR-19-01 issued 
on September 19, 2019, and titled ``Assumptions Used in the Safety 
Assessment Process and the Effects of Multiple Alerts and Indications 
on Pilot Performance'', the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration (in this Act referred to as the ``Administrator''), 
shall do the following:
            (1) 737 max.--Require, with respect to 737 MAX aircraft, 
        the manufacturer of such aircraft to demonstrate to the 
        satisfaction of the Administrator that--
                    (A) system safety assessments for such aircraft, 
                including those in which immediate and appropriate 
                pilot corrective actions are assumed in response to 
                uncommanded flight control inputs from systems such as 
                the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, 
                consider the effect of all possible flight deck alerts 
                and indications on pilot recognition and response; and
                    (B) design enhancements (including flight deck 
                alerts and indications), pilot procedures, and training 
                requirements, are incorporated into such aircraft where 
                needed, to minimize the potential for, and safety 
                impact of, pilot actions that are inconsistent with 
                manufacturer assumptions.
            (2) Other aircraft.--Require that manufacturers of all 
        United States type-certificated transport-category aircraft 
        (other than 737 MAX aircraft) demonstrate to the satisfaction 
        of the Administrator that--
                    (A) system safety assessments for such aircraft, 
                including those in which immediate and appropriate 
                pilot corrective actions are assumed in response to 
                uncommanded flight control inputs consider the effect 
                of all possible flight deck alerts and indications on 
                pilot recognition and response; and
                    (B) design enhancements (including flight deck 
                alerts and indications), pilot procedures, and training 
                requirements, are incorporated into such aircraft where 
                needed, to minimize the potential for, and safety 
                impact of, pilot actions that are inconsistent with 
                manufacturer assumptions.
            (3) International regulators.--Notify international 
        regulators that certify transport-category aircraft type 
        designs (such as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, 
        Transport Canada, the National Civil Aviation Agency-Brazil, 
        the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and the Russian 
        Federal Air Transport Agency) of the requirements under 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) and encourage such 
        regulators to evaluate the relevance of such requirements to 
        their processes and address any changes, if applicable.
            (4) Development of tools and methods for validating 
        assumptions.--
                    (A) Development.--Develop robust tools and methods, 
                with the input of industry and human factors experts, 
                for use in validating assumptions about pilot 
                recognition and response to safety-significant failure 
                conditions as part of the aircraft design certification 
                process.
                    (B) Revision of regulations and guidance.--After 
                the tools and methods have been developed as 
                recommended under subparagraph (A), revise existing 
                Federal Aviation Administration regulations and 
                guidance to incorporate the use of such tools and 
                methods and require documentation as part of the 
                aircraft design certification process, including re-
                examining the validity of pilot recognition and 
                response assumptions permitted in existing Federal 
                Aviation Administration guidance.
            (5) Development and implementation of diagnostic tools.--
                    (A) Development.--Develop design standards, with 
                the input of industry and human factors experts, for 
                aircraft system diagnostic tools that improve the 
                prioritization and clarity of failure indications 
                (direct and indirect) presented to pilots to improve 
                the timeliness and effectiveness of their response.
                    (B) Implementation.--After the design standards 
                have been developed under subparagraph (A), require 
                implementation of system diagnostic tools on transport-
                category aircraft to improve the timeliness and 
                effectiveness of pilots' response when multiple flight 
                deck alerts and indications are present.
    (b) Annual Report on Progress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the progress of the 
Administrator in carrying out the requirements under subsection (a). 
Such report shall also include recommendations for such legislation and 
administrative action as the Administrator determines appropriate.

SEC. 3. ENHANCING THE ABILITY OF THE FAA TO ENSURE THAT AIR CARRIERS 
              SUFFICIENTLY ADDRESS PILOT MONITORING AND MANUAL FLYING 
              SKILLS.

    As recommended by the Inspector General of the Department of 
Transportation in audit report AV-2016-013 issued on January 7, 2016, 
and titled ``Enhanced FAA Oversight Could Reduce Hazards Associated 
With Increased Use of Flight Deck Automation'', the Administrator, in 
order to enhance the ability of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
ensure that air carriers sufficiently address pilot monitoring and 
manual flying skills, shall, not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act--
            (1) issue guidance defining pilot monitoring metrics that 
        air carriers may use to train and evaluate pilots, including 
        metrics or measurable tasks that air carriers can use to 
        evaluate pilot monitoring proficiency; and
            (2) establish and disseminate standards to determine 
        whether pilots receive sufficient training opportunities to 
        develop, maintain, and demonstrate manual flying skills 
        necessary to ensure pilots can recover from an unexpected event 
        or failures with highly automated cockpit systems.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT THAT DESIGN AND PRODUCTION ORGANIZATIONS HAVE IN 
              PLACE A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

    (a) Rulemaking.--The Administrator shall conduct a rulemaking 
proceeding to require that design and production approval holders for 
aviation products have in place a safety management system (SMS) that 
is consistent with the standards established by the International Civil 
Aviation Organization for such systems.
    (b) Final Rule.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall issue a final rule pursuant to the 
rulemaking conducted under subsection (a).
    (c) Surveillance and Audit Requirement.--Under the final rule 
issued pursuant to subsection (b), the Administrator shall implement 
documented surveillance processes by defining and planning inspections, 
audits, and monitoring activities on a continuous basis, to ensure that 
design and production approval holders for aviation products continue 
to meet the established requirements under the rule.

SEC. 5. FAA CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE FOR FLIGHT AUTOMATION AND HUMAN 
              FACTORS IN COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT.

    (a) Center.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall develop a Center 
        for Excellence focused on flight automation and human factors 
        in commercial aircraft.
            (2) Duties.--The Center for Excellence shall--
                    (A) promote and facilitate collaboration among 
                academia, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the 
                commercial aircraft and airline industries, including 
                aircraft manufacturers, commercial air carriers, and 
                representatives of the airline pilot community; and
                    (B) establish goals for research and continuing 
                education in areas of study relevant to advancing 
                technology, improving engineering practices, and 
                facilitating better understanding of human factors 
                concepts in the context of the growing development and 
                reliance on automation in commercial aircraft.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator such sums as may be necessary to 
carry out this section.
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