[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 197 (Friday, October 13, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70912-70913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22647]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 21

[Docket No.: FAA-2018-1052; Notice No. 18-09]
RIN 2120-AL10


Foreign Civil Aviation Authority Certifying Statements

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is withdrawing a previously published NPRM, 
``Compliance with applicable regulations,'' that proposed excluding its 
applicability to import products that have been type certificated 
outside of the United States by a foreign civil aviation authority 
bilateral partner. These products are validated by FAA consistent with 
the requirements in the rulemaking, ``Issue of type certificate: import 
products.'' The NPRM proposed to eliminate the requirement for 
redundant compliance statements by both the foreign civil aviation 
authority and the foreign applicant.

DATES: As of October 13, 2023, the NPRM published on February 22, 2019, 
at 84 FR 5605 is withdrawn.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Flanagan or Stephen Styskal, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-1602; email 
[email protected]; or telephone (206) 231-3144; email 
[email protected] (respectively).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On February 22, 2019, the FAA published an NPRM titled ``Foreign 
Civil Aviation Authority Certifying Statements'' in the Federal 
Register.\1\ In the NPRM, the FAA proposed to revise Sec.  21.20, which 
imposes a requirement on foreign applicants for type certificates (TC) 
of import products. Existing FAA regulations (i.e., Sec.  21.20) 
requires all applicants to show compliance with all applicable 
requirements and to provide the FAA the means by which such compliance 
has been shown and to provide a statement certifying that the applicant 
has complied with the applicable requirements. The NPRM asserted that 
these requirements may be duplicative to the certifying statement that 
the FAA already requires from the foreign civil aviation authority 
(FCAA) of the country or jurisdiction with State of Design 
responsibility for the design approval holder of a product. Under the 
proposed rule, the FAA would no longer have required the applicant to 
show compliance, provide the means by which compliance had been shown, 
or the accompanying statement of compliance from the foreign applicant.
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    \1\ 84 FR 5605.
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    The NPRM comment period closed on April 23, 2019. The FAA received 
four comments from individual commenters; two generally opposed the 
proposal and two are considered outside the scope of the proposed 
rulemaking.

Withdrawal of the NPRM

    Section 21.20 was originally promulgated on October 6, 2009, 
(effective April 14, 2010) as part 21, amendment 21-92. The NPRM issued 
in 2006 that originally proposed Sec.  21.20 (the ``2006 NPRM'') 
provided background on why the FAA was seeking to add Sec.  21.20. In 
the 2006 NPRM, the FAA stated that adding proposed Sec.  21.20(a) would 
emphasize that the applicant is responsible for satisfying all 
applicable requirements by requiring an applicant for a TC (or an 
amended or supplemental type certificate (STC)) to show compliance with 
all applicable requirements and by providing the FAA the means by which 
such compliance has been shown.
    Further, Sec.  21.20(b) requires the applicant to provide a 
statement certifying that the applicant has complied with the 
applicable requirements. The preamble to the 2006 NPRM clarified that 
the statement of compliance would be subject to the then proposed Sec.  
21.2 changes related to fraudulent, intentionally false, or misleading 
statements. The 2006 NPRM did not recognize differences between 
domestic and foreign TC or STC applicants. The FAA has subsequently 
determined that the certifying statement by an applicant attesting to 
its compliance to the applicable requirements in accordance with Sec.  
21.20(b) does not serve the same purpose as a statement made by the 
certifying authority as required by Sec.  21.29(a). Requiring the 
domestic applicant's statement in Sec.  21.20 affirms that the 
applicant is responsible for compliance with all applicable 
requirements. The certifying statement from the bilateral partner civil 
aviation authority is what the FAA needs to demonstrate that compliance 
with Sec.  21.29 has been fulfilled. The two certifying statements 
serve different purposes.
    As the FAA does with domestic applicants, the FAA expects that an 
FCAA works extensively with its applicants in developing the FCAA's 
certifying statement. However, Sec.  21.20 is intended to expedite the 
domestic applicant's type certification approval process by ensuring 
that an applicant's submission package is complete prior to the FAA 
making the compliance determination. The FAA finds it advantageous to 
retain the current rule to expedite certification approval and to 
ensure applicants demonstrate compliance according to the requirements 
of Sec.  21.20. The FAA may deny, suspend or revoke a certificate if 
the applicant's statement is fraudulent,

[[Page 70913]]

intentionally false, or misleading. Therefore, the FAA proposes to 
withdraw the FCAA NPRM published in 2009 and thereby maintain the 
requirement for foreign applicants for type validation to comply with 
Sec.  21.20.

Conclusion

    Withdrawal of Notice No. 18-09 does not preclude the FAA from 
issuing rulemaking on the subject in the future or commit the FAA to 
any future course of action. The FAA will make necessary changes to the 
Code of Federal Regulations through an NPRM with opportunity for public 
comment in the new rulemaking project.
    Therefore, the FAA withdraws Notice No. 18-09, FR Doc. 2018-1052, 
published at 84 FR 5605 on February 22, 2019.

    Issued under authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 44701(a), 
and 44703 in Washington, DC.
Lirio Liu,
Executive Director, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-22647 Filed 10-12-23; 8:45 am]
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