The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a final rule that overhauls the airworthiness standards for small general aviation airplanes. This innovative rule will reduce the time it takes to move safety enhancing technologies for small airplanes into the marketplace and will also reduce costs for the aviation industry.
“Aviation manufacturing is our nation’s top export and general aviation alone contributes approximately $80 billion and 400,000 jobs to our economy,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “The FAA’s rule replaces prescriptive design requirements with performance-based standards, which will reduce costs and leverage innovation without sacrificing safety.”
FAA’s new Part 23 rule establishes performance-based standards for airplanes that weigh less than 19,000 pounds with 19 or fewer seats and recognizes consensus-based compliance methods for specific designs and technologies. It also adds new certification standards to address general aviation loss of control accidents and in-flight icing conditions.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) praised the rule, calling it a true breakthrough for the light end of the general aviation sector. “Today is truly a landmark day for the general aviation industry,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said. “This rule is nothing less than a total rethinking of how our industry can bring new models of pistons, diesels, turboprops, light jets, and new electric and hybrid propulsion airplanes to market, as well as facilitating safety-enhancing modifications and upgrades to the existing fleet. The new part 23 rule makes it easier for manufacturers to do so by reducing the time, cost, and risk involved in certification, while improving safety for customers.”
“The rule is a model of what we can accomplish for American competitiveness when government and industry work together and demonstrates that we can simultaneously enhance safety and reduce burdens on industry,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.
The rule responds to the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013, which directed the FAA to streamline the approval of safety advancements for small general aviation aircraft. It also addresses recommendations from the FAA’s 2013 Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which recommended a more streamlined approval process for safety equipment on small general aviation aircraft.
AOPA President Mark Baker expressed appreciation for the FAA’s work to finalize the Part 23 rewrite, which represents “perhaps the most significant and pivotal” reform for the future of general aviation aircraft. “We acknowledge the FAA’s achievements with Part 23 reform and anticipate a much improved certification process for new aircraft with new innovations, exciting designs and technologies incorporated, but we must also focus on ways to modernize the existing fleet,” Baker said.
The new rule also promotes regulatory harmonization among the FAA’s foreign partners, including the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), and Brazil’s Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC). This harmonization may help minimize costs for airplane and engine manufacturers and operators of affected equipment who seek certification to sell products globally.
The rule affects airplane manufacturers, engine manufacturers, and operators of affected equipment. Click here to learn more from the FAA and industry about the benefits of streamlined certification.
This regulatory change is a leading example of how the FAA is transforming its Aircraft Certification Service into an agile organization that can support aviation industry innovation in the coming years. The Service is focused on using risk-based oversight to refresh the certification strategy, investing in management systems to improve performance, and improving the overall organization.
“General aviation is at a critical point in its history. AOPA strongly believes that the final rule, once fully implemented, has the potential to create marked improvements in both the safety and affordability of the fleet—new and existing,” Baker said.
The rule will be effective eight months from publication in the Federal Register.
