Congress Eyes FAA Certification Reform for AAM Aircraft

This is original reporting and analysis by AirPro News.

The United States Congress is evaluating whether to streamline Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification requirements for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft to prevent regulatory gridlock, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published on June 12, 2026.

The CRS report outlines the complexities of certifying electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which are designed to transport small payloads and a few passengers over distances of 10 to 150 miles. Lawmakers are attempting to balance the need to foster aerospace innovation with the stringent safety oversight implemented following the Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Certification timelines and regulatory hurdles

Current FAA rules grant a five-year validity period for transport category aircraft type certification applications. Normal, utility, aerobatic, and commuter categories receive a three-year window.

The CRS notes that certifying a new aircraft type typically takes between five and nine years. This timeline frequently forces developers to seek extensions to their initial applications to keep their certification programs active.

Noise limits for AAM applicants remain undefined by the FAA. The CRS report indicates that maximum noise levels and measurement conditions will differ from those established for commercial drones because of the larger size and weight of AAM vehicles. Separately, the FAA has not approved any AAM designs developed in China for use beyond experimental testing and limited flight demonstrations in the United States.

Legislative efforts to streamline approvals

Congressional scrutiny of commercial aircraft certification increased significantly after the Boeing 737 MAX accidents, culminating in the December 2020 passage of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. The CRS report notes that Congress might consider relaxing requirements that industry views as impediments, potentially through alternative means of compliance that offer “equivalent levels of safety to more traditional or established certification regulations.”

To address the specific needs of the nascent AAM industry, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act (S. 3885) on February 12, 2026. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the bill by voice vote on July 22, 2026.

If enacted, the legislation would require the FAA to publish a certification plan for AAM operations within 180 days. The agency would also be mandated to establish nonbinding expected time ranges for major certification milestones within 270 days. Concurrently, the FAA is operating the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) to evaluate emerging technologies in real-world environments.

AirPro News analysis

We view the tension between rapid innovation and rigorous safety oversight as the defining challenge for the AAM sector over the next decade. The CRS report highlights a fundamental mismatch between the statutory three-to-five-year certification windows and the reality of a five-to-nine-year development cycle for novel aerospace technologies.

Congress appears willing to explore alternative means of compliance for eVTOL manufacturers, provided those alternatives offer equivalent levels of safety to traditional standards. However, the political memory of the Boeing 737 MAX groundings ensures that any legislative mandate to accelerate FAA timelines will face strict scrutiny regarding passenger safety and system redundancy.

Sources: Congressional Research Service