Helicopter Safety Parity Act of 2026

This bill would require turbine-powered helicopters that carry 2 or more paying passengers to meet safety equipment, training, and maintenance standards equivalent to those for airlines under federal part 121 rules. Required equipment would include terrain awareness, cockpit voice recording, and flight data recording, or approved equivalents, along with airline-level standards for pilot qualification, duty and rest, and maintenance. Operators would have 24 months to comply, with a possible 6-month extension, and emergency medical helicopter flights would be exempt. The Federal Aviation Administration would issue final rules within 18 months, and the bill authorizes $50 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 for rulemaking, enforcement, and hiring safety inspectors.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Jerrold Nadler Democrat sponsor
• 5 cosponsors