The U.S. FAA released the long-awaited proposed rewrite of Part 23 certification rules for small aircraft. Published in the March 14 Federal Register, the proposal is one of the most sweeping regulatory revisions in the FAA’s history, taking a new approach to certifying light piston, turboprop and jet aircraft.

The proposal is based on recommendations of a multinational industry/government rulemaking committee that established a goal of doubling safety while cutting in half the costs of certification. The proposal attempts to reach that goal by replacing the prescriptive approach to Part 23 certification with a more performance-based method. It also enables the use of consensus standards for new technologies that are established by an international standards committee composed of top government and industry experts. This committee is housed under the standards-setting organization ASTM.

The proposal would replace current weight and propulsion divisions in Part 23 with performance- and risk-based divisions for airplanes that seat up to 19 passengers and have a maximum takeoff weight of 19,000 pounds or less.

In addition, the proposal is aimed at addressing one of general aviation’s most pervasive safety issues: loss of control in flight. The proposed rulemaking calls for airworthiness standards to address certification for flight in icing conditions, enhanced stall characteristics and minimum control speed to prevent departure from controlled flight for multi-engine airplanes.

The FAA, which estimated the proposal to be “cost beneficial,” said the current prescriptive standards entail detailed design requirements based on airplane designs from the 1950s and 1960s. “As a result of this prescriptive framework, the FAA often requires a design approval applicant seeking to incorporate new or innovative technology to provide additional documentation that typically results in the FAA’s issuance of special conditions, exemptions or equivalent level of safety,” the agency said. “The FAA recognizes that these additional procedures and requirements are costly to the FAA and industry, act as barriers to certification and discourage innovation.”

Incorporating New Technologies

The proposed rulemaking, the agency said, would maintain the level of safety associated with current Part 23 and “hasten the adoption of safety-enhancing technology in type-certified products while reducing regulatory time and cost burdens for the aviation industry and FAA.”

“This proposal would streamline how we approve new technologies for small piston-powered airplanes all the way to complex high-performance executive jets,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “The FAA’s collaboration with industry and international partners reflects a performance-based, flexible approach which would accommodate today’s rapidly changing aviation industry and technological advances now and in the future.”

 “General aviation is vital to the U.S. economy, and this proposal would benefit manufacturers, pilots and the general aviation community as a whole,” added Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in announcing the proposal.

The proposal must still go through a comment period (comments are due by May 13) before the final rule is released. The rulemaking is long overdue; Congress had directed the FAA to release the final rule before the end of last year.

While frustrated by the bureaucratic processes that have slowed the progress of the rule, General Aviation Manufacturers Association president Pete Bunce remained encouraged by the efforts of the FAA to work with industry on the rule. “This proposal is the result of nearly a decade of work by the entire aviation community, and…will help improve general aviation safety and bolster the piston, turboprop and light jet market, as well as remove barriers to certification for new technologies such as electric and hybrid propulsion,” said Bunce after the proposed rule was released.

Bunce urged industry stakeholders to “respond quickly with meaningful comments and the FAA to engage with other aviation authorities so a harmonized and effective final rule can be issued by the current administration. If they do so, the FAA, through its leadership, can put in place a lasting legacy that will benefit general aviation safety and the vitality of the general aviation industry for decades to come.”

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association also offered support for the rulemaking, with president Mark Baker saying it includes “much needed and long overdue reforms.” At the same time the association pushed for further reforms to address barriers to installation of new safety equipment on legacy aircraft.

“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,” Baker said. “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…innovative safety technology.”