49 U.S.C. § 44513 — Regional centers of air transportation

Page 1271 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 44513 nology of House of Representatives by House Resolu- tion No. 5, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Jan. 5, 2011. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2003 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 108–176 applicable only to fis- cal years beginning after Sept. 30, 2003, except as other- wise specifically provided, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–176, set out as a note under section 106 of this title. § 44512. Catastrophic failure prevention research grants (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may make grants to institutions of higher education and nonprofit research organizations— (1) to conduct aviation research related to the development of technologies and methods to assess the risk of, and prevent, defects, fail- ures, and malfunctions of products, parts, processes, and articles manufactured for use in aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and ap- pliances that could result in a catastrophic failure of an aircraft; and (2) to establish centers of excellence for con- tinuing the research. (b) SOLICITATION, APPLICATION, REVIEW, AND EVALUATION PROCESS.—The Administrator shall establish a solicitation, application, review, and evaluation process that ensures providing grants under this section for proposals having adequate merit and relevancy to the research described in subsection (a) of this section. (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1182.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 44512 .......... 49 App.:1353(h). Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85–726, 72 Stat. 731, § 312(h); added Nov. 5, 1990, Pub. L. 101–508, § 9208(b), 104 Stat. 1388–376. In this section, the words ‘‘institutions of higher edu- cation’’ are substituted for ‘‘colleges, universities’’ for consistency in the revised title. In subsection (b), the words ‘‘providing grants’’ are substituted for ‘‘the funding’’ for consistency in the re- vised title. § 44513. Regional centers of air transportation excellence (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may make grants to institutions of higher education to establish and operate regional centers of air transportation excellence. The locations shall be distributed in a geographically fair way. (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—(1) The responsibilities of each center established under this section shall include— (A) conducting research on— (i) airspace and airport planning and de- sign; (ii) airport capacity enhancement tech- niques; (iii) human performance in the air trans- portation environment; (iv) aviation safety and security; (v) the supply of trained air transportation personnel, including pilots and mechanics; and (vi) other aviation issues related to devel- oping and maintaining a safe and efficient air transportation system; and (B) interpreting, publishing, and dissemi- nating the results of the research. (2) In conducting research described in para- graph (1)(A) of this subsection, each center may make contracts with nonprofit research organi- zations and other appropriate persons. (c) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher education interested in receiving a grant under this section may submit an application to the Administrator. The application must be in the form and contain the information that the Ad- ministrator requires by regulation. (d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Administrator shall select recipients of grants under this sec- tion on the basis of the following criteria: (1) the extent to which the needs of the State in which the applicant is located are representative of the needs of the region for improved air transportation services and fa- cilities. (2) the demonstrated research and extension resources available to the applicant to carry out this section. (3) the ability of the applicant to provide leadership in making national and regional contributions to the solution of both long- range and immediate air transportation prob- lems. (4) the extent to which the applicant has an established air transportation program. (5) the demonstrated ability of the applicant to disseminate results of air transportation re- search and educational programs through a statewide or regionwide continuing education program. (6) the projects the applicant proposes to carry out under the grant. (e) EXPENDITURE AGREEMENTS.—A grant may be made under this section in a fiscal year only if the recipient makes an agreement with the Administrator that the Administrator requires to ensure that the recipient will maintain its total expenditures from all other sources for es- tablishing and operating the center and related research activities at a level at least equal to the average level of those expenditures in the 2 fiscal years of the recipient occurring imme- diately before November 5, 1990. (f) GOVERNMENT’S SHARE OF COSTS.—The United States Government’s share of estab- lishing and operating a center and all related re- search activities that grant recipients carry out shall not exceed 50 percent of the costs, except that the Administrator may increase such share to a maximum of 75 percent of the costs for a fiscal year if the Administrator determines that a center would be unable to carry out the au- thorized activities described in this section without additional funds. (g) ALLOCATING AMOUNTS.—The Administrator shall allocate amounts made available to carry out this section in a geographically fair way. (h) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall transmit annually to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep- resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate at Page 1272 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 44513 the time of the President’s budget request a re- port that lists— (1) the research projects that have been ini- tiated by each center in the preceding year; (2) the amount of funding for each research project and the funding source; (3) the institutions participating in each re- search project and their shares of the overall funding for each research project; and (4) the level of cost-sharing for each research project. (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1182; Pub. L. 112–95, title IX, § 907, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 140.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 44513 .......... 49 App.:1353(i). Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85–726, 72 Stat. 731, § 312(i); added Nov. 5, 1990, Pub. L. 101–508, § 9209(a), 104 Stat. 1388–376. In this section, the words ‘‘institutions of higher edu- cation’’ and ‘‘institution of higher education’’ are sub- stituted for ‘‘colleges or universities’’ and ‘‘college or university’’ for consistency in the revised title. In subsection (a), the words ‘‘one or more’’ are omit- ted as surplus. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2012—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 112–95, § 907(a), amended sub- sec. (f) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘The United States Government’s share of a grant under this section is 50 percent of the costs of es- tablishing and operating the center and related re- search activities that the grant recipient carries out.’’ Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 112–95, § 907(b), added subsec. (h). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries FAA CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR AUTOMATED SYSTEMS AND HUMAN FACTORS IN AIRCRAFT Pub. L. 116–260, div. V, title I, § 127, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2348, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop or expand a Center of Excellence focused on automated systems and human factors in transport category air- craft. ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Center of Excellence shall, as ap- propriate— ‘‘(1) facilitate collaboration among academia, the FAA, and the aircraft and airline industries, includ- ing aircraft, engine, and equipment manufacturers, air carriers, and representatives of the pilot commu- nity; ‘‘(2) establish goals for research in areas of study relevant to advancing technology, improving engi- neering practices, and facilitating better under- standing of human factors concepts in the context of the growing development and reliance on automated or complex systems in commercial aircraft, including continuing education and training; ‘‘(3) examine issues related to human system inte- gration and flight crew and aircraft interfaces, in- cluding tools and methods to support the integration of human factors considerations into the aircraft de- sign and certification process; and ‘‘(4) review safety reports to identify potential human factors issues for research. ‘‘(c) AVOIDING DUPLICATION OF WORK.—In developing or expanding the Center of Excellence, the Adminis- trator shall ensure the work of the Center of Excellence does not duplicate or overlap with the work of any other established center of excellence. ‘‘(d) MEMBER PRIORITIZATION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, when devel- oping or expanding the Center of Excellence, shall prioritize the inclusion of subject-matter experts whose professional experience enables them to be ob- jective and impartial in their contributions to the greatest extent possible. ‘‘(2) REPRESENTATION.—The Administrator shall re- quire that the membership of the Center of Excel- lence reflect a balanced viewpoint across broad dis- ciplines in the aviation industry. ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE.—Any member of the Center of Ex- cellence who is a Boeing Company or FAA employee who participated in the certification of the Maneu- vering Characteristics Augmentation System for the 737 MAX-8 airplane must disclose such involvement to the FAA prior to performing any work on behalf of the FAA. ‘‘(4) TRANSPARENCY.—In developing or expanding the Center of Excellence, the Administrator shall de- velop procedures to facilitate transparency and ap- propriate maintenance of records to the maximum extent practicable. ‘‘(5) COORDINATION.—Nothing in this section shall preclude coordination and collaboration between the Center of Excellence developed or expanded under this section and any other established center of excel- lence. ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is au- thorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023, out of funds made available under section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated under the preceding sentence for any fiscal year shall remain available until expended.’’ [For definitions of terms used in section 127 of div. V of Pub. L. 116–260, set out above, see section 137 of div. V of Pub. L. 116–260, set out as a note under section 40101 of this title.] CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR AVIATION HUMAN RESOURCE RESEARCH Pub. L. 112–95, title IX, § 908, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 140, provided that: ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Using amounts made available under section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Adminis- tration] may establish a center of excellence to con- duct research on— ‘‘(1) human performance in the air transportation environment, including among air transportation personnel such as air traffic controllers, pilots, and technicians; and ‘‘(2) any other aviation human resource issue perti- nent to developing and maintaining a safe and effi- cient air transportation system. ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities conducted under this sec- tion may include the following: ‘‘(1) Research, development, and evaluation of training programs for air traffic controllers, aviation safety inspectors, airway transportation safety spe- cialists, and engineers. ‘‘(2) Research and development of best practices for recruitment of individuals into the aviation field for mission critical positions. ‘‘(3) Research, in consultation with other relevant Federal agencies, to develop a baseline of general aviation employment statistics and an analysis of fu- ture needs in the aviation field. ‘‘(4) Research and the development of a comprehen- sive assessment of the airframe and power plant tech- nician certification process and its effect on employ- ment trends. ‘‘(5) Evaluation of aviation maintenance technician school environments. ‘‘(6) Research and an assessment of the ability to develop training programs to allow for the transition of recently unemployed and highly skilled mechanics into the aviation field.’’ Page 1273 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 44517 [§ 44514. Repealed. Pub. L. 118–63, title III, § 337, May 16, 2024, 138 Stat. 1093] Section, Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1183, related to closing, reopening, and reducing hours of certain flight service stations and establishment of manned auxiliary flight service stations. [§ 44515. Repealed. Pub. L. 118–63, title IV, § 401(a), May 16, 2024, 138 Stat. 1148] Section, Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1184, related to grants for advanced training facilities for maintenance technicians for air carrier aircraft. § 44516. Human factors program (a) HUMAN FACTORS TRAINING.— (1) AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS.—The Adminis- trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall— (A) address the problems and concerns raised by the National Research Council in its report ‘‘The Future of Air Traffic Con- trol’’ on air traffic control automation; and (B) respond to the recommendations made by the National Research Council. (2) PILOTS AND FLIGHT CREWS.—The Adminis- trator shall work with representatives of the aviation industry and appropriate aviation programs associated with universities to de- velop specific training curricula to address critical safety problems, including problems of pilots— (A) in recovering from loss of control of an aircraft, including handling unusual atti- tudes and mechanical malfunctions; (B) in deviating from standard operating procedures, including inappropriate re- sponses to emergencies and hazardous weather; (C) in awareness of altitude and location relative to terrain to prevent controlled flight into terrain; and (D) in landing and approaches, including nonprecision approaches and go-around pro- cedures. (b) TEST PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall establish a test program in cooperation with air carriers to use model Jeppesen approach plates or other similar tools to improve precision-like landing approaches for aircraft. (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Ad- ministrator shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa- tives a report on the status of the Administra- tion’s efforts to encourage the adoption and im- plementation of advanced qualification pro- grams for air carriers under this section. (d) ADVANCED QUALIFICATION PROGRAM DE- FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘advanced qualification program’’ means an alternative method for qualifying, training, certifying, and ensuring the competency of flight crews and other commercial aviation operations personnel subject to the training and evaluation require- ments of parts 121 and 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. (Added Pub. L. 106–181, title VII, § 713(a), Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 160.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (c), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 106–181, which was approved Apr. 5, 2000. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1999, see section 3 of Pub. L. 106–181, set out as an Effective Date of 2000 Amendments note under section 106 of this title. HUMAN FACTORS PROFESSIONALS Pub. L. 118–63, title IV, § 410, May 16, 2024, 138 Stat. 1156, provided that: ‘‘The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall take such actions as may be necessary to establish a new work code for human factors professionals who— ‘‘(1) perform work involving the design and testing of technologies, processes, and systems which require effective and safe human performance; ‘‘(2) generate and apply theories, principles, prac- tical concepts, systems, and processes related to the design and testing of technologies, systems, and training programs to support and evaluate human performance in work contexts; and ‘‘(3) meet education or experience requirements as determined by the Administrator.’’ HUMAN FACTORS EDUCATION PROGRAM Pub. L. 116–260, div. V, title I, § 124, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2346, provided that: ‘‘(a) HUMAN FACTORS EDUCATION PROGRAM.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop a human factors education program that addresses the effects of modern flight deck systems, including automated systems, on human performance for trans- port airplanes and the approaches for better integra- tion of human factors in aircraft design and certifi- cation. ‘‘(2) TARGET AUDIENCE.—The human factors edu- cation program shall be integrated into the training protocols (as in existence as of the date of enactment of this title [Dec. 27, 2020]) for, and be routinely ad- ministered to, the following: ‘‘(A) Appropriate employees within the Flight Standards Service. ‘‘(B) Appropriate employees within the Aircraft Certification Service. ‘‘(C) Other employees or authorized representa- tives determined to be necessary by the Adminis- trator. ‘‘(b) TRANSPORT AIRPLANE MANUFACTURER INFORMA- TION SHARING.—The Administrator shall— ‘‘(1) require each transport airplane manufacturer to provide the Administrator with the information or findings necessary for flight crew to be trained on flight deck systems; ‘‘(2) ensure the information or findings under para- graph (1) adequately includes consideration of human factors; and ‘‘(3) ensure that each transport airplane manufac- turer identifies any technical basis, justification or rationale for the information and findings under paragraph (1).’’ [For definitions of ‘‘Administrator’’ and ‘‘transport airplanes’’ as used in section 124 of div. V of Pub. L. 116–260, set out above, see section 137 of div. V of Pub. L. 116–260, set out as a note under section 40101 of this title.] § 44517. Program to permit cost sharing of air traffic modernization projects (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements of this section, the Secretary may carry out a