In comments filed this week, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) criticized a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposal to upgrade cockpit voice recorders (CVR) for failing to conduct a meaningful review of the regulatory impact for aircraft operated under Parts 135 and 91.

Specifically, the FAA did not analyze the proposed rule’s impact on Part 135 on-demand operators and Part 91 subpart K fractional program aircraft, both of which are significantly impacted by the proposal. 

“It is both surprising and concerning that this NPRM, which has been under development for several years, was able to pass all FAA, Department of Transportation and Office of Management and Budget reviews without anyone in those organizations recognizing that the regulatory evaluation and impact analysis did not include any aircraft smaller that those used by the Part 121 airlines,” NATA stated.
     
The association’s comments highlighted the gravity of the FAA’s oversight, explaining that “the failure here is not that the analyses include inaccurate data, but that they include no data whatsoever relevant to the Part 135 and 91 fleet of aircraft.” 

NATA noted that the lack of an accurate analysis is more than a mere disservice to the industry; it amounts to non-compliance with mandatory obligations established by statute and Presidential Executive Order.

Regarding the missing analysis, the association stated, “[We] can only conclude that those conducting the analysis either believed the rule was only applicable to airlines, or that the researchers possessed a fundamental misunderstanding of Part 135 on-demand and Part 91 fractional ownership operations, the aircraft utilized and the equipment required.”

NATA called for an immediate halt to further action implementing the proposed CVR rules on Part 135 on-demand and Part 91 fractional operators until an accurate economic and regulatory flexibility analysis, including a review of the impact on small business, is completed and the public has the opportunity to review and comment. 

Currently, any turbine-powered aircraft with six or more passenger seats is required to have a CVR installed. 

Each of these aircraft operated under Part 135 or fractionally owned and operated under Part 91 subpart K is impacted by the proposed rule changes.  While the proposed rules would also require changes to FDR technologies, those changes will generally impact newly manufactured aircraft, not those already in-service.

FMI: www.nata.aero