HOUSE ADVANCES FAA REFORM BILL AFTER 737 MAX CRASHES
December 9, 2020
On November 17, 2020, House lawmakers approved bipartisan legislation, H.R. 8408 (Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act), mandating tighter controls on the FAA’s aircraft certification process after two deadly Boeing 737 Max crashes exposed gaps in the government’s oversight and jet makers’ outsized role in vetting their own aircraft safety.
This bill would:
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Require FAA to revise and improve how it issues amended type certificates of older airplane designs, and it would introduce another layer of oversight for the FAA’s Organization Designation Authorization program, which delegates certain segments of the aircraft certification process to the plane makers themselves;
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Require FAA to approve any new employees who are selected by the manufacturers to perform delegated tasks under the ODA program;
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Establish an expert review panel to evaluate Boeing’s safety culture and to make recommendations for improvements;
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Demand more transparency from transport-category aircraft manufacturers, like Boeing
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Incorporate recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board requiring FAA to:
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Rework its existing assumptions to more sufficiently account for a variety of in-flight emergency situations;
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The different levels of pilot training; and,
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How pilots are expected to interact with highly automated and complex aircraft-handling systems that have become more common in newer jets like the 737 Max.
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In addition to the bill being passed in the House, the FAA also published a notice of proposed rulemaking in August for an airworthiness directive that will mandate a number of design changes to the Boeing 737 Max before it returns to passenger service.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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