49 U.S.C. § 44704 — Type certificates, production certificates, airworthiness certificates, and design and production organization certificates

(a) Type Certificates.— (1) Issuance, investigations, and tests.— The Administrator must issue a type certificate for an aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, or an appliance covered under paragraph (2)(A), when the Administrator finds it is properly designed and built, performs properly, and meets the standards set under section 44701(a). When someone applies, the Administrator investigates and may hold a hearing. The Administrator may run tests, or make the applicant run them, whenever safety requires it. (2) Specifications.— The Administrator may (A) decide by regulation which appliances need a type certificate for safety reasons; (B) add safety terms to a type certificate; and (C) record on the certificate the key numbers describing how the aircraft, engine, or propeller is supposed to perform. (3) Special rules for new aircraft and appliances.— Except as paragraph (4) allows, if a type certificate holder lets someone else use the certificate to manufacture a new aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance, the holder must give that person written proof of the agreement, in a form the Administrator accepts. That other person can only manufacture the item if they hold the certificate themselves or have the holder's permission. (4) Limitation for aircraft manufactured before August 5, 2004.— Paragraph (3) does not apply to someone who started building an aircraft before August 5, 2004, and can prove it, as long as the type certificate holder's name is not on the aircraft's airworthiness certificate or ID plate. In that case, the certificate holder is not responsible for keeping that aircraft airworthy, and the builder can only use this exception for one aircraft. (5) Release of data.— (A) In general.— The Administrator may release engineering data about a type certificate or supplemental type certificate — without the owner's consent — to someone trying to keep an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance airworthy or improve it, if the Administrator finds (i) the certificate has been inactive for 3 or more years (a shorter time is allowed if needed to fix an unsafe condition), (ii) after a careful search, the Administrator cannot find the certificate's owner or their heir, and (iii) releasing the data will make aviation safer. (B) "Engineering data" defined.— This means the design drawings and specifications for the whole aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance, or for a change to it, including the original design data and related supplier data for approved parts. (C) Requirement to maintain data.— The Administrator must keep engineering data for any certificate that has been inactive for 3 or more years. (6) Submission of data.— When an applicant submits design data for a compliance finding, they must certify to the Administrator that (A) the data shows the design meets applicable airworthiness standards, and (B) any standards it does not meet are made up for by other factors that the Administrator agrees give an equal level of safety. (b) Supplemental Type Certificates.— (1) Issuance.— The Administrator may issue a supplemental type certificate for a change made to an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance. (2) Contents.— That certificate covers just the change, on top of the earlier type certificate. (3) Requirement.— If the holder of a supplemental type certificate lets someone else use it to modify an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance, the holder must give that person written proof of the agreement. That other person can only make the change if they hold the certificate or have the holder's permission. (c) Production Certificates.— The Administrator must issue a production certificate letting someone build duplicates of an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance that already has a type certificate, once the Administrator finds the duplicates will match the certificate. The Administrator inspects — and may require testing of — the duplicates, and may add safety terms to the certificate. (d) Airworthiness Certificates.— (1) A registered aircraft owner may apply for an airworthiness certificate. The Administrator issues one after finding the aircraft matches its type certificate and, after inspection, is fit to fly safely. The Administrator registers each certificate, may add relevant information to it, and the required certificate number or marking must be displayed on the aircraft, along with any safety terms the Administrator adds. (2) Someone applying for or renewing an airworthiness certificate for an aircraft whose ownership was not recorded under section 44107 or 44110 must submit ownership information the Administrator needs to identify everyone with a property interest in the aircraft, and how much of an interest they have. (3) Nonconformity with approved type design.— (A) In general.— A production certificate holder cannot present a nonconforming aircraft for an initial airworthiness certificate, whether directly or through the registered owner or an applicant under paragraph (2). (B) Civil penalty.— A production certificate holder who knowingly does this anyway can be fined up to $1,000,000 for each nonconforming aircraft. (C) Penalty considerations.— In setting that fine, the Administrator considers (i) the nature, circumstances, extent, and seriousness of the violation, including how long the holder knew about the nonconformity without disclosing it, and (ii) the holder's degree of fault, history of past violations, and business size. (D) "Nonconforming aircraft" defined.— This means an aircraft that does not match its approved type design. (e) Disclosure of Safety Critical Information.— (1) In general.— Even with a delegation under section 44702(d), the Administrator must require an applicant for, or holder of, a type certificate for a transport-category airplane (covered by 14 C.F.R. part 25) to submit safety-critical information, in whatever form or timing the Administrator sets. This must include (A) the design, operation, functions, and failure modes of any system that controls a safety-critical function, or that changes the flight path or speed, without the flight crew commanding it; (B) the same details for autopilot and autothrottle systems, including how they signal their mode; (C) any failure or operating condition the applicant or holder expects, or has concluded, would be "hazardous" or "catastrophic" under FAA severity definitions; (D) any handling problem that only meets the rules because software was added to fix the flight controls; and (E) a safety assessment of the systems in (A) or (B), or of any part or system whose failure could be hazardous or catastrophic. (2) Ongoing communications.— (A) Newly discovered information.— The applicant or holder must disclose any new information, or design or analysis change, that would meaningfully change what they already told the Administrator under paragraph (1). (B) System development changes.— The Administrator must set milestones during certification to check whether a system change makes the system count as new or unusual. (3) Flight manuals.— The Administrator must make sure flight manuals and flight crew operating manuals describe the systems in paragraph (1)(A) and how crews should respond if one fails or misbehaves. (4) Civil penalty.— (A) Amount.— An applicant or holder who knowingly violates paragraph (1), (2), or (3) can be fined up to $1,000,000 per violation. (B) Penalty considerations.— Same factors as in subsection (d)(3)(C). (5) Revocation and civil penalty for individuals.— (A) In general.— The Administrator must revoke the airline transport pilot certificate of anyone who, acting for an applicant or holder, knowingly makes a false statement about the matters in paragraph (1)(A) through (E). (B) Authority to impose civil penalty.— The Administrator may also fine that person under section 46301. (6) Rule of construction.— None of this limits the Administrator's power to deny, revoke, or amend a type certificate. (7) "Type certificate" defined for this subsection.— (A) This means a certificate issued under subsection (a), or an amendment to one, but (B) does not include a supplemental type certificate under subsection (b). (f) Hearing Requirement.— The Administrator can only find a violation of subsection (d)(3) or (e)(1) through (3), and fine someone for it, after giving notice and a chance for a hearing. The Administrator must give the person (1) written notice of the violation and the fine amount, and (2) a hearing under 14 C.F.R. part 13, subpart G. (g) Certification Dispute Resolution.— (1) Dispute resolution process and appeals.— (A) In general.— Within 60 days of this subsection becoming law, the Administrator had to issue an order creating (i) a timely, milestone-based process for resolving type certification issues, and (ii) a way for someone directly involved in certification — a "covered person" — to appeal an FAA decision, finding, or act on design compliance, if they believe it is wrong or does not follow the law, regulations, or FAA guidance. (B) Escalation.— That order must let parties (i) resolve technical issues at agreed pre-set stages; (ii) automatically send unresolved major milestones up to FAA and applicant management if they are not settled within an agreed time; (iii) resolve those escalated milestones within an agreed time; (iv) get an initial review of appeals from appropriate FAA staff; and (v) get further review by FAA management and the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety. (C) Disposition.— (i) Written decision.— The Associate Administrator must issue a written decision, explaining the reasoning, on every appeal under (A)(ii) and every further appeal under (B)(v). (ii) Report to Congress.— By December 31 each year through 2028, the Administrator must send the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee a report summarizing every appeal that was resolved. (D) Final review.— (i) A written decision from the Associate Administrator can be appealed to the Administrator for a final decision. (ii) The Administrator may decline to review it. (iii) No court may review a decision under this paragraph, including a decision to decline review. (2) Prohibited contacts.— (A) Prohibition generally.— During an appeal, a covered FAA official cannot privately communicate (as defined in 5 U.S.C. § 551) with someone representing the applicant or holder about that appeal, unless it is disclosed as (B) requires. (B) Disclosure.— If a covered official has, receives, or learns of such a private communication, they must disclose it in the public record when the written decision comes out, including the time, date, subject, and everyone involved. (3) Definitions.— (A) "Covered person" means either (i) an FAA employee who works on aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance certification, or (ii) an applicant for, or holder of, a type certificate or amended type certificate. (B) "Covered official" means specific FAA leadership: the Executive Director and Deputy Directors of the Aircraft Certification Service; the Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Operations; the Director and Deputy Director of the Compliance and Airworthiness Division; the Director and Deputy Director of the System Oversight Division; the Director and Deputy Director of the Policy and Innovation Division; the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Directors of the Flight Standards Service; the Associate and Deputy Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety; the Deputy Administrator; the Administrator; and any similar current or future FAA management job the Administrator names. (C) "Major certification process milestone" means a milestone tied to the type certification basis, plan, inspection authorization, issue paper, or other major certification activity that the Administrator and the applicant agreed to. (4) Rule of construction.— None of this stops someone from making a good-faith complaint alleging (A) gross misconduct, (B) a violation of title 18 of the U.S. Code, or (C) a violation of 5 C.F.R. part 2635 or 6001.