Sponsors (10)
The bill increases predictability and speed of aircraft certification to bolster industry competitiveness and innovation, but it trades off stronger enforceable accountability and could pressure safety oversight or weaken independent FAA checks if implementation is rushed.
Aircraft manufacturers, applicants, and related suppliers (including small businesses and tech workers) gain clearer, published certification timelines and process predictability, reducing planning uncertainty and likely shortening approval-related delays.
Manufacturers and applicants benefit from a more stable means-of-compliance regime — greater acceptance of consensus industry standards and converting recurring issue papers into published policy/advisory circulars or CFR updates — lowering compliance costs and repeated reviews.
Clearer delegation rules and requirements to distinguish routine versus safety‑critical findings give applicants, delegated organizations, and FAA staff more predictable roles and can improve consistency of safety oversight.
Passengers, transportation workers, and applicants face increased safety risk if rigid timelines create pressure to rush certification reviews or divert attention from thorough safety analysis.
Regulated parties and the public lose accountability and remedies because timeline commitments are made non‑reviewable in court and the Administration retains discretion to exclude complex issues, reducing enforceability of timely agency action.
Expanding delegation to applicants or authorized representatives could shift oversight burden away from the FAA and weaken independent verification, increasing the chance of inconsistent or less rigorous approvals.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
Requires the FAA to publish a plan, set standard timelines for aircraft certification, define issue-paper criteria, update delegation guidance, and report to Congress, with timelines not subject to judicial review.
Official title: Provide for updates to the Federal Aviation Administration type certification process to support development of new and novel technologies, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Peter Welch · Last progress February 12, 2026
Requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make aircraft type certification and related processes more transparent and predictable. The FAA must publish a public plan, set standard expected timelines for certification milestones (including for advanced air mobility and powered-lift), create criteria and responsibilities for “issue papers,” update delegation guidance for use of authorized representatives, consult stakeholders, and report performance to Congress. The law also states timelines do not create new legal rights and are not subject to judicial review.