Sec. 252. Bilateral exchanges of safety oversight responsibilities
323 words·~1 min read·
/bill/115/hr/4/eh/section-252A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 44701(e) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: The Administrator may accept an airworthiness directive issued by an aeronautical safety authority of a foreign country, and leverage that authority’s regulatory process, if— the country is the state of design for the product that is the subject of the airworthiness directive; the United States has a bilateral safety agreement relating to aircraft certification with the country; as part of the bilateral safety agreement with the country, the Administrator has determined that such aeronautical safety authority has a certification system relating to safety that produces a level of safety equivalent to the level produced by the system of the Federal Aviation Administration; the aeronautical safety authority of the country utilizes an open and transparent notice and comment process in the issuance of airworthiness directives; and the airworthiness directive is necessary to provide for the safe operation of the aircraft subject to the directive.
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Administrator may issue a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive instead of accepting an airworthiness directive otherwise eligible for acceptance under such subparagraph, if the Administrator determines that such issuance is necessary for safety or operational reasons due to the complexity or unique features of the Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive or the United States aviation system. The Administrator may— accept an alternative means of compliance, with respect to an airworthiness directive accepted under subparagraph (A), that was approved by the aeronautical safety authority of the foreign country that issued the airworthiness directive; or notwithstanding subparagraph (A), and at the request of any person affected by an airworthiness directive accepted under such subparagraph, approve an alternative means of compliance with respect to the airworthiness directive.
The Administrator may not accept an airworthiness directive issued by an aeronautical safety authority of a foreign country if the airworthiness directive addresses matters other than those involving the safe operation of an aircraft. .