[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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