WASHINGTON — A House committee approved a bill Wednesday to make regulations less stringent for small aircraft, allowing for more technological innovation in the industry and lessening costs for pilots and plane manufacturers.
“There will be a more modern fleet to flying,” said Steve Hedges, communication director of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, based in Frederick, Md.
The Small Airplane Revitalization Act would create a more streamlined certification process for small aircraft. It would also realign safety objectives to make them consistent with developing technology, which Hedges said is safer than the technology now in use in certified small planes.
Some of this new technology includes airbags built into seat belts and “angle of attack indicators” that help pilots better navigate speed and are currently used in military and commercial aircraft. Technology advances also include air traffic avoidance equipment and advanced GPS technology.
In 2006, Hedges said there were 704 fatalities in general aviation flights – excluding military and commercial airline flights. In 2011, fatalities fell to 444, a decrease that Hedges attributed to improved technology.
The Federal Aviation Administration regulations for small aircraft have not been substantially updated in 30 years, according to Gregory Bowles, director of engineering and manufacturing for General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
He said that FAA regulations have largely centered on larger aircraft and commercial airliners. However larger aircraft – defined by the FAA as weighing more than 12,500 pounds – only account for about 50,000 planes worldwide. By comparison, 220,000 smaller aircraft are licensed around the globe, Bowles said.
The small-plane industry flourished in the 1970s and 1980s, but stale regulations have discouraged people from entering the industry in recent years as current rules are not welcoming to the new technology, Bowles said.
“You can make a technology out there and you can’t sell it widely enough or it’s just too expensive to meet that [regulatory] burden,” Bowles said.
It costs between $5,000 and $10,000 for a manufacturer to certify a small airplane under existing regulations. Bowles said the legislation would bring the costs down to between $500 and $1,000.
Hedges said the cost cutting might encourage GPS providers such as Garmin, and airplane manufacturers such as Cessna Aircraft Co. and Piper Aircraft Inc., to lower prices for their planes and related products.
“The cost of aircraft has gone way up over the years,” Hedges said. “And major manufacturers such as Cessna, Piper have complained that their aircraft have been costing more because of [current regulations].”
Hedges, who owns a Piper Comanche four-seat plane, said he’s waiting until the bill becomes law to make improvements, since the cost may be significantly lower.
Lawmakers also say the bill may have significant economic returns for the aircraft industry at large.
“The general aviation industry includes nearly 600,000 pilots, employs roughly 1.3 million and contributes approximately $150 billion annual to the U.S. economy,” said Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which voted favorably on the legislation.
Bowles said streamlining the regulation process may help boost innovation of new aircraft products and continue to grow U.S. trade. General aviation remains as one of the “few remaining U.S. manufacturing industries that provide a trade surplus,” he said.
“Congress is showing that it’s as important to them as it is to us,” said Bowles, who has worked in conjunction with Congress and the FAA to outline new regulations what would encompass new technology.
The bill is expected to reach the House floor no later than September. And Hedges said the sooner it passes, the better, as many pilots are waiting to buy new planes or new technology for existing planes.