Sec. 525. Cockpit voice and video recorders
453 words·~2 min read·
/bill/118/hr/3935/ih/section-525A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act, an air carrier certificated under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, may not operate an aircraft under part 121 of such title that is not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder and a cockpit video recorder each capable of recording at least 25 hours of data. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish an aviation rulemaking committee to provide consensus recommendations for the installation and operation of recorders described in subsection (a).
The Administrator shall appoint the members of the aviation rulemaking committee established in subsection (b), which shall be comprised of at least 1 representative of each of the following: Air carriers. Air cargo carriers. Aircraft manufacturers, including manufacturers of cockpit voice recorders and cockpit video recorders. Aircraft part and component suppliers, including suppliers of cockpit voice recorders and cockpit video recorders. Pilot labor groups. Safety experts.
Other stakeholder groups that the Administrator determines appropriate. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the aviation rulemaking committee established under subsection
(b)shall submit to the Administrator a report on the consensus recommendations required under such subsection. Not later than 10 days after the issuance of the report required under subsection (d), the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the report submitted under subsection (d). Not later than 3 years after the submission of the report under subsection (d), the Administrator shall issue a final rule to issue regulations revising part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and establishing other relevant regulations, based on the consensus recommendations of such report to account for the requirement under subsection
(a)and the limitations under subsection (g). The Administrator shall take such action as may be necessary to ensure that any data from a recording on a cockpit voice recorder or cockpit video recorder— is protected from unlawful or unauthorized disclosure to the public; is used exclusively by a Federal agency for a criminal investigation, aircraft accident, or aircraft incident investigation; and is not used by an air carrier as a basis for any adverse employment action against an employee of the air carrier except as related to the findings of an investigation described in paragraph (2). Nothing in subsections
(b)through
(f)shall be construed as constraining or otherwise mandating delays to rulemaking efforts of the Federal Aviation Administration related to cockpit voice recorders or cockpit video recorders underway on the date of enactment of this Act.