To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a study to compare the effects of allowing certain aircraft certified under part 23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to operate under part 121 of such title, and for other purposes.

This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to study the effects of allowing certain small aircraft certified under part 23 to operate under part 121, which governs larger commercial airlines. The FAA must complete the study within 180 days and report to Congress within one year.

Sec. 1, Study on safety and airworthiness of certain aircraft: The FAA Administrator must conduct a study on allowing post-2017 aircraft (passenger planes with 10-19 seats certified after August 30, 2017) to operate under part 121. The study must consider actions Congress could take to incentivize right-sized aircraft for small communities, recommendations from a 1994 NTSB safety study, a 1995 FAA final rule on commuter operations, and operational disadvantages U.S. air carriers face compared to foreign carriers using post-2017 aircraft.

The Administrator must coordinate with an independent study group including representatives from the aviation industry, small/rural/remote communities affected by declining airline service (including those with subsidies under 49 U.S.C. chapter 417 subchapter II), and aviation safety experts knowledgeable about part 23 and part 25 airworthiness requirements.

The report to Congress must include a safety comparison of pre-1995 aircraft (10-19 seat planes certified under part 23 before March 29, 1995, operating under part 121) with post-2017 aircraft, the number of pre-1995 aircraft used commercially, an assessment of whether part 121 carriers would buy post-2017 aircraft, and an assessment of the economic need for scheduled service in small and rural communities and challenges to improving that service.