DeSaulnier-Authored Aviation Safety Measures Included in Bicameral, Bipartisan FAA Reauthorization

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) announced that several aviation safety measures he authored and has long advocated for were included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024 (H.R. 3935),which reauthorizes the FAA for five years while creating a safer, cleaner, more sustainable, and more accessible U.S. aviation system. This bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 387-to-26 and now goes to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

“The safety provisions I authored that were included in the FAA reauthorization are the culmination of years of work to protect the flying public and ensure the United States remains a global leader in aviation safety and innovation,” said Congressman DeSaulnier. “With a chance only every five years to reauthorize the FAA and as dangerous near-miss aviation incidents are on the rise, I am proud of our work to make these crucial changes that will benefit and protect American workers and consumers.”

Following the near-miss incident at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in 2017 when an arriving Air Canada flight came dangerously close to landing on a taxiway occupied by four aircraft loaded with more than 1,000 passengers, Congressman DeSaulnier spent two years researching aviation and near-miss incidents in consultation with experts in the field, including Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, culminating in authoring the Safe Landings Act. Provisions from this legislation that were integrated into the FAA Reauthorization Act include:

• The creation of a Task Force on Human Factors in Aviation Safety to review and provide recommendations on pilot operations and training; and
• Several protections from near-misses and safety risks, including
  • Identifying the need for airport surface surveillance and safety systems,
  • Requiring data analysis of safety incidents to find and address underlying patterns, and
  • Ensuring 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 advocating for the inclusion of the following initiatives in the FAA Reauthorization bill:

• A requirement to increase cockpit voice recorders’ audio data storage to 25 hours to aid in investigating safety incidents;
• Provisions that invest $1 billion in airport climate resiliency to deal with extreme weather events; and
• Stronger whistleblower protections for aviation workers.

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.