AOPA ENCOURAGED BY PROPOSED FAA RULE ON AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION

FREDERICK, MD – The FAA has announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which would replace today’s highly prescriptive design requirements with performance- and risk-based standards for aircraft certification under Part 23.
“This NPRM includes much needed and long overdue reforms to the aircraft certification process,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “AOPA has worked diligently with industry stakeholders and the FAA to promote a shift to standards that maintain safety while making it easier and more affordable to bring innovative technology into GA aircraft. This proposed rule is a critical step in that direction.”
While the NPRM focuses on design and certification of new aircraft, changes are still needed to make it easier and more affordable for the owners of legacy aircraft to put modern safety equipment in their airplanes.

“We hope that this NPRM, along with policy changes already in place to support the installation of safety enhancing equipment in GA aircraft, signals a new approach to regulation and certification,” said Baker. “One size does not fit all when it comes to aircraft equipment. With the GA fleet aging and just over a thousand new piston-powered GA aircraft being delivered each year, we must make it easier to upgrade legacy aircraft with a wide range of innovative safety technology.”
AOPA has been actively engaged in identifying ways to streamline the certification process, serving on the FAA’s Certification Process Study; the Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which developed the recommendations for reforms; and the ASTM F44 Committee, which developed industry consensus standards for the Part 23 rulemaking effort.