49 U.S.C. § 44746: Flight data recovery from…

Summary

The FAA must finish writing rules within 18 months so that, within 5 years, certain planes are fitted with three safety features: a way to get required flight data after an accident without having to pull the cockpit voice or flight data recorders out of the water, a tamper-resistant system that sends enough info to a ground station to show where the plane stopped flying, and an airframe low-frequency underwater locator that works for at least 90 days and can be found by proper equipment. "Applicable aircraft" means any plane built on or after January 1, 2028 that is flown under 14 CFR part 121, is required to have cockpit voice and flight data recorders, and is used for long overwater flights.

Title 49, §44746

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(a)In General.—

Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall complete a rulemaking proceeding to require that, not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this section, all applicable aircraft are—

(1)fitted with a means, in the event of an accident, to recover mandatory flight data parameters in a manner that does not require the underwater retrieval of the cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder;

(2)equipped with a tamper-resistant method to broadcast sufficient information to a ground station to establish the location where an applicable aircraft terminates flight as the result of such an event; and

(3)equipped with an airframe low-frequency underwater locating device that functions for at least 90 days and that can be detected by appropriate equipment.

(b)Applicable Aircraft Defined.—

In this section, the term “applicable aircraft” means an aircraft manufactured on or after January 1, 2028, that is—

(1)operated under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations;

(2)required by regulation to have a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder; and

(3)used in extended overwater operations.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 118–63, which was approved May 16, 2024.

§44746 Flight Data Recovery From Overwater Operations

Summary

Title 49, §44746

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

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