DISCLOSURE OF SAFETY CRITICAL INFORMATION.

SEC. 105. DISCLOSURE OF SAFETY CRITICAL INFORMATION. (a) Disclosure.—Section 44704 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following: “(e) Disclosure of Safety Critical Information.— “(1) In general.—Notwithstanding a delegation described in section 44702(d), the Administrator shall require an applicant for, or holder of, a type certificate for a transport category airplane covered under part 25 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to submit safety critical information with respect to such airplane to the Administrator in such form, manner, or time as the Administrator may require. Such safety critical information shall include— “(A) any design and operational details, intended functions, and failure modes of any system that, without being commanded by the flight crew, commands the operation of any safety critical function or feature required for control of an airplane during flight or that otherwise changes the flight path or airspeed of an airplane; “(B) the design and operational details, intended functions, failure modes, and mode annunciations of autopilot and autothrottle systems, if applicable; “(C) any failure or operating condition that the applicant or holder anticipates or has concluded would result in an outcome with a severity level of hazardous or catastrophic, as defined in the appropriate Administration airworthiness requirements and guidance applicable to transport category airplanes defining risk severity; “(D) any adverse handling quality that fails to meet the requirements of applicable regulations without the addition of a software system to augment the flight controls of the airplane to produce compliant handling qualities; and “(E) a system safety assessment with respect to a system described in subparagraph (A) or (B) or with respect to any component or other system for which failure or erroneous operation of such component or system could result in an outcome with a severity level of hazardous or catastrophic, as defined in the appropriate Administration airworthiness requirements and guidance applicable to transport category airplanes defining risk severity. “(2) Ongoing communications.— “(A) Newly discovered information.—The Administrator shall require that an applicant for, or holder of, a type certificate disclose to the Administrator, in such form, manner, or time as the Administrator may require, any newly discovered information or design or analysis change that would materially alter any submission to the Administrator under paragraph (1). “(B) System development changes.—The Administrator shall establish multiple milestones throughout the certification process at which a proposed airplane system will be assessed to determine whether any change to such system during the certification process is such that such system should be considered novel or unusual by the Administrator. “(3) Flight manuals.—The Administrator shall ensure that an airplane flight manual and a flight crew operating manual (as appropriate or applicable) for an airplane contains a description of the operation of a system described in paragraph (1)(A) and flight crew procedures for responding to a failure or aberrant operation of such system. “(4) Civil penalty.— “(A) Amount.—Notwithstanding section 46301, an applicant for, or holder of, a type certificate that knowingly violates paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection shall be liable to the Administrator for a civil penalty of not more than $1,000,000 for each violation. “(B) Penalty considerations.—In determining the amount of a civil penalty under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall consider— “(i) the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation, including the length of time that such safety critical information was known but not disclosed; and “(ii) with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior violations, and the size of the business concern. “(5) Revocation and civil penalty for individuals.— “(A) In general.—The Administrator shall revoke any airline transport pilot certificate issued under section 44703 held by any individual who, while acting on behalf of an applicant for, or holder of, a type certificate, knowingly makes a false statement with respect to any of the matters described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1). “(B) Authority to impose civil penalty.—The Administrator may impose a civil penalty under section 46301 for each violation described in subparagraph (A). “(6) Rule of construction.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect or otherwise inhibit the authority of the Administrator to deny an application by an applicant for a type certificate or to revoke or amend a type certificate of a holder of such certificate. “(7) Definition of type certificate.—In this subsection, the term ‘type certificate’— “(A) means a type certificate issued under subsection (a) or an amendment to such certificate; and “(B) does not include a supplemental type certificate issued under subsection (b).” . (b) Civil Penalty Authority.—Section 44704 of title 49, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following: “(f) Hearing Requirement.—The Administrator may find that a person has violated subsection (a)(6) or paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (e) and impose a civil penalty under the applicable subsection only after notice and an opportunity for a hearing. The Administrator shall provide a person— “(1) written notice of the violation and the amount of penalty; and “(2) the opportunity for a hearing under subpart G of part 13 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.” . (c) [49 U.S.C. 44704 note] Required Submission of Outline of System Changes at the Beginning of the Certification Process.— (1) In general.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this title, the Administrator shall initiate a process to revise procedures to require an applicant for an amendment to a type certificate for a transport category aircraft to disclose to the Administrator, in a single document submitted at the beginning of the process for amending such certificate, all new systems and intended changes to existing systems then known to such applicant. The Administrator shall finalize the revision of such procedures not later than 18 months after initiating such process. (2) Application.—Compliance with the procedures revised pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not preclude an applicant from making additional changes to aircraft systems as the design and application process proceeds. (3) Savings provision.—Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit the obligations of an applicant for an amended type certificate for a transport category airplane under section 44704(e) of title 49, United States Code, as amended in this title.