Casey, Colleagues Push FAA to Implement Legislation to Prevent Airplane Hijacking

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Casey passed bill named after Bucks County pilot in 2018

More than two years past the mandated deadline, FAA has yet to finalize rules requiring secondary barriers on new aircraft

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Ed Markey (D-MA), and John Fetterman (D-PA) sent a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Acting Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) Administrator Billy Nolen urging the FAA to implement the Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2018. The law requires all new commercial aircraft to be built with a secondary barrier separating the cockpit from the cabin within a year of enactment. The FAA issued a proposed rule requiring these barriers last year, but although the public comment period closed in September 2022, there has been no public update on the timing of a final rule.

"Hundreds of new planes have entered use since October 5, 2019, the statutory date for implementation of the rule, but none of these aircraft were required to be equipped with secondary barriers. With the average airplane staying in commercial service for 20 - 30 years, this means that millions of flights will occur without the Congressionally required safety mechanisms in place," the Senators wrote. "Further delays in implementation, compounded by the two-year transition period in the proposed rule, will only increase that number."

Casey continues to work to protect airplane passengers and pilots from hijackings. Since 2019, he has led the Saracini Enhanced Aviation Safety Act to mandate installation of secondary barriers between cabin and cockpit on all passenger planes in the United States, not only new ones.

Full text of the letter is below and the signed PDF is HERE.

The Honorable Pete Buttigieg

Secretary of Transportation

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue,

Washington, D.C. 20590

The Honorable Billy Nolen

Acting Administrator

Federal Aviation Administration

SE 800 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20591

Dear Secretary Buttigieg and Administrator Nolen:

We write today requesting information on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) work to

implement the proposed rule requiring the installation of secondary cockpit barriers on certain

commercial airlines ("Installation and Operation of Flightdeck Installed Physical Secondary

Barriers on Transport Category Airplanes in Part 121 Service," Docket No. FAA-2022-0772).

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (PL 115-254), which passed the House of Representatives

and the Senate with broad bipartisan support, included the Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2018.

This provision directed the FAA to issue a rule, "not later than 1 year after the date of the

enactment of this Act," requiring that new aircraft have a secondary barrier preventing

unauthorized entry into the cockpit. This provision would help ensure the safety of pilots and

passengers alike.

On July 27th, 2022, more than two years after the Congressionally mandated deadline, the FAA

issued the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the secondary barrier rule. The sixty-day public

comment window closed in September of 2022, but there has been no public update as to the

status of the proposed rule.

As supporters of the goals of the Saracini Aviation Safety Act, we have serious concerns about

the implications of further delays on issuing the final rule. Hundreds of new planes have entered

use since October 5, 2019, the statutory date for implementation of the rule, but none of these

aircraft were required to be equipped with secondary barriers. With the average airplane staying

in commercial service for 20 - 30 years, this means that millions of flights will occur without

the Congressionally required safety mechanisms in place. Further delays in implementation,

compounded by the two-year transition period in the proposed rule, will only increase that

number.

To that end, we respectfully request that the FAA provide us with an update on its timeline for

issuing the final rule, as well as the agency's plans for addressing the safety of planes that have

entered use in the last several years having avoided the necessary safety installations that

Congress intended.

Thank you for your work on this and other issues related to the safety of our Nation's aviation

system.

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