Helicopter Safety Parity Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8226 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8226 To establish safety equipment, training, and maintenance requirements for turbine-powered helicopters carrying 2 or more passengers for compensation or hire, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 9, 2026 Mr. Nadler (for himself, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Goldman of New York, and Mr. Espaillat) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To establish safety equipment, training, and maintenance requirements for turbine-powered helicopters carrying 2 or more passengers for compensation or hire, 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 ``Helicopter Safety Parity Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) Certain helicopter operators conduct passenger service under part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, that is substantially similar to part 121 of such title scheduled passenger operations. (2) These operations avoid the more rigorous standards for pilot training, duty and rest, maintenance, and equipment required under part 121 of such title. (3) The Federal Aviation Administration has acknowledged this gap and proposed rulemaking to close it, but such rulemaking has not been finalized. (4) Public safety requires that rotorcraft providing passenger service comply with standards equivalent to those governing airlines. (5) This Act builds on, and does not duplicate, the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration Safety Management System final rule issued in 2024. (6) A series of helico