Congressman DeSaulnier Includes Safety Provisions to Prevent Near-Miss Incidents and Protect the Flying Public in House-Passed FAA Reauthorization

Washington, D.C. – Today,Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) announced that four provisions he authored to prevent near-miss aircraft incidents were included in the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (H.R. 3935) to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for five years, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 351-to-69.

“Following the near-miss incident that occurred at San Francisco International Airport in 2017 when a plane almost landed on a taxiway occupied by four aircraft putting more than 1,000 passengers at risk, I’ve been working to pass aviation safety reforms,” said Congressman DeSaulnier. “I am proud to have worked closely with Captain “Sully” Sullenberger on these initiatives that would help to address surface safety risks and prevent near-misses, which are more critical than ever as there have been over 900 runway incursions so far in 2023 alone.”

DeSaulnier’s provisions would create a Task Force on Human Factors in Aviation Safety to review and provide recommendations on pilot operations and training; identify the need for airport surface surveillance and safety systems; require data analysis of safety incidents to find and address underlying patterns; and ensure protections for pilots in the use of cockpit voice recorders for safety investigations to help learn more when incidents do occur.

DeSaulnier was also successful in including the following initiatives in H.R. 3935:

• Protecting aviation workers by preventing foreign air carriers from getting permits to operate in the U.S. if they undermine fair labor standards;
• Making airport resiliency projects that help prepare airports to deal with extreme weather events eligible for funding under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP);
• Requiring a review of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) best available technologies and standards and reporting to Congress on implementing them in the U.S.

“The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act would bolster American leadership in aerospace innovation, strengthen and diversify the U.S. aviation workforce, make investments in sustainability and resiliency, and improve consumer protections and accessibility. I am proud of our bipartisan work on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to pass this bill, which would create good-paying jobs in aviation and maintain American leadership in aviation safety,” DeSaulnier concluded.

Congressman DeSaulnier is a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He is also the former chair of both the California Assembly and California Senate transportation committees.