49 U.S.C. § 46111 — Certificate actions in response to a security threat

(a) Orders. The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration must issue an order amending, modifying, suspending, or revoking any part of a certificate issued under this title, if the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration notifies the FAA that the certificate holder poses, or is suspected of posing, a risk of air piracy, terrorism, or a threat to airline or passenger safety. If TSA asks for it, the order takes effect right away.

(b) Hearings for Citizens. A U.S. citizen who is hurt by an order under (a) has the right to a hearing on the record.

(c) Hearings. In a hearing under this section, the administrative law judge does not have to accept the FAA's or TSA's factual findings or their interpretations of laws and regulations.

(d) Appeals. An appeal from an administrative law judge's decision under (b) goes to the Transportation Security Oversight Board (set up under section 115). The Board sets up a panel to review the decision. Panel members (1) cannot be TSA employees, (2) must hold whatever security clearance the review requires, and (3) must be given access to all relevant supporting documents. The panel may affirm, modify, or reverse the decision.

(e) Review. A person substantially affected by a panel's action under (d) — or the TSA Administrator, if the Administrator decides the panel's action will seriously hurt this part's goals — may get the order reviewed under section 46110. TSA and the FAA must both be made parties to that review. The panel's factual findings are final if substantial evidence supports them.

(f) Explanation of Decisions. Someone who starts an appeal under this section must receive a written explanation of the decision, and all relevant supporting documents, as fully as national security and other applicable laws allow.

(g) Classified Evidence. (1) TSA — working with the FAA and the Director of Central Intelligence — must write regulations letting TSA give the affected person an unclassified summary of any classified evidence behind the FAA's order, as part of a hearing under this section. (2)(A) If the FAA's order under (a) relies on classified information (as the Classified Information Procedures Act defines it), TSA may give that information to the administrative law judge under proper security procedures; the judge reviews it privately, without the other side present. (B) TSA must make sure judges who review these orders hold the security clearances their work requires, coordinating with other agencies as needed. (3) If the affected person asks, TSA must give both that person and the reviewing judge an unclassified summary of any classified evidence behind the FAA's order, following the procedures set up under (1).