S. 1985 — Safe Operations of Shared Airspace Act of 2025

This section designates the Act as the “Safe Operations of Shared Airspace Act of 2025” and sets forth the table of contents.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including “Administrator” (i.e., FAA Administrator), “ADS–B In” (i.e., onboard avionics receiving ADS–B Out broadcasts of aircraft state vector and other data per 14 CFR 91.227), “ADS–B Out” (per 14 CFR 91.227), “air carrier” and “foreign air carrier” (per 49 U.S.C. 40102), “appropriate committees of Congress” (i.e., Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure), “Cabinet member” (i.e., head of specified executive departments), “Comptroller General” (i.e., of the United States), “FAA” (i.e., Federal Aviation Administration), “powered-lift” and “rotorcraft” (per 14 CFR 1.1), “Secretary” (i.e., Secretary of Transportation), “SMS” (i.e., safety management system), “transport airplane” (i.e., transport category airplane for air carriers or foreign air carriers with 30 or more passenger seats or all-cargo/combi derivative), and “unmanned aircraft system” (per 49 U.S.C. 44801).

This section establishes an independent expert review panel, to be convened by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator not later than 60 days after enactment, to evaluate the FAA's Safety Management System (SMS)—a framework comprising safety policy, risk management, assurance, and promotion—for compliance with FAA orders and policies, actual and projected safety enhancements, integration across FAA lines of business, personnel training, voluntary safety reporting efficacy, potential updates to ICAO Annex 19 standards, and other aviation safety matters. The panel consists of appointed members—including two NASA SMS experts, three aviation labor representatives (from pilot and air traffic controller unions), at least five independent SMS experts with 10 years of experience, three aviation industry SMS experts, and one U.S. Mission to ICAO representative—advised by up to five FAA employees (at least three SMS experts). The panel must submit a report with majority-endorsed findings and recommendations to the Administrator and appropriate congressional committees not later than 180 days after its first meeting (including appended dissenting views), after which the Administrator publishes it on the FAA website within 5 days and the panel terminates. The panel may access FAA premises, interview employees, and review de-identified records (with non-federal members limited to de-identified information under 49 U.S.C. §40123 and 14 C.F.R. part 193), subject to nondisclosure requirements modeled on 18 U.S.C. §1905.

This section narrows exceptions to Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out (ADS-B Out) equipage and transmission requirements under 14 CFR 91.225(f) (or successor regulation) by (1) strictly construing "sensitive government mission" to exclude training flights, flights of Federal officials below Cabinet Member rank, or routine flights; and (2) redefining "special mission aircraft" under section 1046(e)(3) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) as an aircraft designated by the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the FAA, for a unique mission where ADS-B Out operation poses a unique risk exceeding risks to the National Airspace System (NAS) from non-equipage or deactivation. (ADS-B Out requires aircraft in specified airspace to broadcast GPS-derived position and other data for enhanced air traffic surveillance and collision avoidance.) It further directs the FAA Administrator to conform the regulation and related Memoranda of Agreement to these changes; requires the Comptroller General to review exception usage by the Department of Defense and other operators within one year of enactment and report to congressional committees; mandates an FAA determination on continued exception eligibility for noncompliant agencies, with a congressional briefing; and requires establishment of a joint FAA-Department of Defense council (via the FAA-DOD Coordination office) for ongoing compliance reviews of all exception operations, with annual congressional briefings.

This section requires air carriers operating under 14 CFR part 121 or part 135 (including those providing scheduled service or under part 380 public charters) to equip aircraft with operational Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In (ADS-B In) equipment at all times by four years after enactment, unless authorized otherwise by air traffic control and regardless of FAA regulations. The section directs the FAA Administrator to establish performance requirements for such equipment to enhance flight crew safety—including increased situational awareness, air traffic conflict alerts, and collision avoidance—and to issue guidance on compliant equipment types.

This section establishes within the FAA the Office of FAA–DOD Coordination, to be created or designated not later than 30 days after enactment, to coordinate military aircraft and rotorcraft airspace use with FAA air traffic operations and to conduct required safety reviews. It directs the FAA Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and other relevant federal agencies, to initiate not later than 30 days after Office establishment a safety review of military, law enforcement, and civilian rotary wing, powered lift, and unmanned aircraft system operations and routes in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area—including Department of Defense and emergency response operations—to assess risks to commercial transport airplane operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, with completion required not later than 120 days after initiation. The section further requires similar safety reviews at other Class B airports (as listed in Appendix D to 14 C.F.R. part 91) nationwide to assess such risks to commercial transport operations, with the Administrator to (1) classify those airports by mixed air traffic volume into higher- and lower-volume categories not later than 90 days after enactment; (2) initiate higher-volume reviews not later than 90 days after enactment and complete them not later than two years after the first such initiation; and (3) initiate and complete lower-volume reviews on the same two-year schedule following the higher-volume completion deadline. Safety reviews must (1) analyze air traffic and airspace management; (2) evaluate FAA coordination with DOD, other agencies, and emergency providers on airspace and route approvals for non-transport-category aircraft; (3) assess risks to transport airplanes from such operations in Class B airspace near Class B airports; (4) examine relevant incident reports from FAA and NASA systems; and (5) include qualified representatives from aviation labor organizations, including the principal organization representing airline pilots and the exclusive bargaining representative of FAA air traffic controllers (certified under 5 U.S.C. §7111). Finally, it requires the Administrator to submit a report on the reviews to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 60 days after completion of all reviews.

This section directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and specified military departments to establish memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for sharing aviation safety information to analyze impacts on civil aviation operations and mitigate risks in the national airspace system. Specifically, (1) the FAA and Department of the Army must enter an MOU within 60 days of enactment to share data from the Army’s Safety Management Information System; and (2) within 90 days of enactment, the FAA must enter similar MOUs with the Departments of the Navy and Air Force and the Coast Guard.

This section excludes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) workforce from government-wide hiring freezes imposed on or after enactment—retroactively reversing any such freeze at the FAA from January 20, 2025, to enactment—and from deferred resignation programs or voluntary furlough opportunities on or after enactment (preserving the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments program under 5 C.F.R. part 576, as in effect on January 1, 2025). It further directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO), not later than 30 days after enactment, to review FAA probationary employee terminations from February 14, 2025, to enactment—including whether a safety risk management analysis was conducted, congressional committees were notified, and the national airspace system was adversely affected—and to report findings and recommendations to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 240 days after enactment. Finally, this section prohibits the Secretary of Transportation and FAA Administrator from conducting a reduction in force or reducing full-time equivalent positions at the FAA.

This section directs the FAA Administrator to maintain an Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative program—leveraging the existing Collegiate Training Initiative (i.e., partnerships with colleges to train air traffic controllers)—to support recruitment, education, and hiring of developmental air traffic controllers. Among other requirements, the Administrator must (1) partner with accredited institutions of higher education offering certified air traffic curricula equivalent to FAA Academy training; (2) certify at least 15 such institutions for participation, including those certified as of January 20, 2025; (3) allow non-competitive hiring of qualified graduates scoring well-qualified on the Air Traffic Skills Assessment into excepted service (i.e., non-competitive civil service) air traffic control specialist positions; and (4) use available funds to support hiring of qualified instructors and evaluators at participating or applicant institutions. Not later than five years after enactment, the Comptroller General must study the program's effectiveness in producing qualified students and certified controllers and report results and recommendations to Congress and the Administrator one year later. This section further directs the FAA Administrator, using available funds, to hire qualified physicians to increase the Aviation Medical Examiner workforce and achieve maximum staffing in the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine. This section initiates an air traffic control instructor recruitment program.

This section requires the FAA Administrator to conduct a Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology (TARAM) analysis—outlined in FAA Policy Statement PS–ANM–25–05 (dated November 4, 2011)—for any transport airplane accident in the United States resulting in a fatality, regardless of suspected aircraft design or manufacturing issues, and to submit a report on the results and recommendations to the appropriate congressional committees within 30 days. It further directs the Administrator, within 60 days of enactment, to (1) designate multiple FAA employees as TARAM experts responsible for its advocacy, maintenance, training, and updating the 2011 policy statement to reflect current National Transportation Safety Board accident rates; and (2) revise the 2011 policy statement (and any successors) to conform to these requirements. This section also replaces Section 130(c) of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act (Public Law 116–260) to require notice to congressional committees of jurisdiction on TARAM findings and recommendations following a transport airplane accident with loss of life.

This section directs the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation to audit the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including its Whistleblower Protection Program, to determine whether the FAA appropriately processes and acts on submitted complaints without compromising the identity of any reporter. Not later than 60 days after enactment, the Inspector General must submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing the audit results and recommendations for legislation and administrative action.

This section directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue, not later than 60 days after the date of enactment, an interim final rule requiring strict adherence to conflicts-of-interest prohibitions under 18 U.S.C. 208 (i.e., barring executive branch officers and employees from participating personally and substantially in particular matters affecting their financial interests, subject to specified exceptions such as agency waivers). It further directs the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation to review, not later than one year after the date of enactment, the department's compliance with this section; identify any federal conflict-of-interest waivers granted for Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration employees relating to contracting, acquisition, and procurement; and brief the appropriate congressional committees on the findings.