Part 23 reform: FAA releases final rule on small aircraft certification

The new small airplane certification standards contained in the Part 23 final rule usher in a new approach to regulation by the FAA, will enhance the production and marketability of aircraft made in the United States, and will add industry jobs, said speakers at the Washington, D.C., news conference.

“This is a very, very exciting day for all of us at the FAA, for the aviation industry, the manufacturing industry, and for pilots all across America,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, announcing the overhaul of the small airplane airworthiness standards. He added that the rule, which takes effect next August, would begin an era in which safety and innovation would both flourish in small airplane production, an industry he credited with generating $80 billion in economic activity and 400,000 jobs.

The new approach—producing certified airplanes of less than 19,000 pounds and 19 seats by consensus standards rather than government-mandated methods—is an “absolutely critical” step representing a “fundamental shift in how the FAA approaches certification,” Huerta said.

Piper Aircraft CEO Simon Caldecott, who became chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association in October, predicted that the rule would serve as a model for future reform, noting that as a proposal it was widely regarded as a “poster child for good rulemaking.”

Crediting the FAA with its leadership on the Part 23 initiative, Caldecott joined Huerta in acknowledging the roles of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) in sponsoring 2013 legislation that called on the agency to move forward with certification reform. GAMA has been the lead industry organization in bringing about the final rule, which AOPA has also strongly supported.

Brad Mottier, vice president and general manager of Business and General Aviation and Integrated Systems for GE Aviation, and a former GAMA chairman, joined Huerta and Caldecott in noting that the rule would leverage innovation in the design of aircraft in an era when the “ever-increasing pace of change” challenges regulators to keep up.

Joe Brown, president of Piqua, Ohio-based Hartzell Propeller, added that “continuity of purpose” bound his company, which employs 300, with the global GE Aviation and with government regulators. Part 23 reform spells a promise of growth and new jobs, he said.

Brown, a GA pilot, contrasted the ease with which he was able to build an amateur-built aircraft “loaded” which technological amenities such as an angle-of-attack indicator, with the struggle new airplane manufacturers have faced before the Part 23 rewrite under the weight of regulation “to introduce real purposeful design improvements.”

“As a supplier in Piqua, we’re going to win too,” he said.

Responding to a question, Caldecott estimated it would take approximately a year before the rule’s benefits became apparent in new aircraft in production.

Huerta, fielding questions, expressed optimism that the FAA would adjust to the resulting culture shift. Industry support for the process would help the FAA secure “adequate resourcing” for any pressures on the agency’s capacity to handle any increased workload, he said.

Asked how the new approach to small airplane certification was being received at the FAA, Huerta replied, “People are wildly enthusiastic about this across the agency.”