FLIGHT DECK Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10303 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10303

 To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
 establish a flight deck training program for certain employees of the 
        Federal Aviation Administration, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 4, 2026

 Ms. Pou (for herself, Mr. Bresnahan, and Ms. Scholten) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
 establish a flight deck training program for certain employees of the 
        Federal Aviation Administration, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Flight Logistics Initiative to Gain 
Heightened Travel Data and Enhance Communication Knowledge Act'' or the 
``FLIGHT DECK Act''.

SEC. 2. FLIGHT DECK TRAINING PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
shall establish a voluntary flight deck training program under which 
eligible employees of the Federal Aviation Administration may access 
the flight deck of voluntarily participating commercial passenger, air 
cargo, powered lift, or general aviation aircraft during flights for 
the purpose of familiarizing certified air traffic controllers with the 
complex onboard requirements experienced by flight crews.
    (b) Eligible Employees.--Certified air traffic controllers shall be 
eligible to participate in the program established under subsection 
(a).
    (c) Participation.--Eligible employees under subsection (b) 
participating in the program established under subsection (a) may sit 
in the flight deck for at least 1 round trip to immediate and 
destination airports within the coterminous United States, Alaska, 
Hawaii, and United States Possessions and Territories, except that--
            (1) reimbursement of any expenses, including per diem and 
        mileage, will not be authorized or paid; and
            (2) an eligible employee may only participate in the 
        program subject to operational and staffing requirements with 
        management approval.
    (d) Considerations.--An eligible employee participating in the 
program established under subsection (a) shall be considered as working 
on-duty during flight hours participating in the program.
    (e) Regulations and Policies.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall, in consultation 
        with organizations representing certified collective bargaining 
        representatives of airline pilots, flight crews, and the 
        exclusive bargaining representative of air traffic controllers 
        certified under section 7111 of title 5, United States Code, 
        issue such policies as are necessary to carry out the program 
        under subsection (a).
            (2) Additional requirements.--The Administrator may 
        prescribe additional ticketing requirements and security 
        clearance eligibility requirements for eligible employees to 
        ensure the safety of pilots, flight crew, and passengers.
            (3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
        construed to require a voluntarily participating commercial 
        passenger, air cargo, powered lift, or general aviation 
        aircraft to displace or otherwise reassign a off-duty pilot who 
        is using an accessible seat within a flight deck for the 
        purposes of traveling for work or assignment to allow an 
        eligible employee to participate in the flight deck training 
        program.
    (f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
establishment of the program under subsection (a), the Administrator 
shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
report on the number of air traffic controllers who have participated 
in the program under this section, the proportion of flights observed 
on each type of participating aircraft, barriers to participation for 
both air traffic controllers and airline participants, and 
recommendations to increase participation both for air traffic 
controllers and airline participants.
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