H.R. 5231: Safe Airspace for Americans Act

The Safe Airspace for Americans Act is a legislative proposal aimed at enhancing the reporting and analysis of incidents involving unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) in the context of aviation. Here are the key points regarding what the bill intends to implement:

Establishment of Reporting Procedures

The bill mandates the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to:

• Develop standardized procedures for the collection, reporting, and analysis of incidents related to UAP. This includes adverse effects on flight operations and disruptions of flight instruments.
• Ensure that incidents are reported and stored in a way that allows for integrated analysis.
• Provide FAA employees with a reliable method for timely reporting of possible UAP incidents.
• Ensure prompt investigations of reported incidents, including archiving relevant communications and data to assist in these investigations.
• Assess any potential threats posed by UAP incidents to the safety of national airspace.

Cooperation with Other Agencies

The FAA Administrator will coordinate with various other federal agencies to implement the bill, including the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and others, to optimize the reporting and investigation processes.

Information Sharing

All reports and archived information related to UAP incidents are to be shared with the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office within the Department of Defense to facilitate a broader understanding and response to these phenomena.

Protection for Reporters

The bill includes provisions to protect individuals who report UAP incidents:

• Reports made under this bill cannot be used for enforcement actions against the reporters, except in cases involving accidents or criminal offenses.
• Individuals submitting reports will not be negatively impacted in terms of their medical or airman certification evaluations based on their sightings or reports of UAP.
• Federal employees and contractors are protected from reprisals, such as job losses or security clearance revocations, for reporting UAP incidents.
• Air carriers and commercial operators are prohibited from retaliating against employees who report UAP findings.

Communications Strategy

Within 180 days of the bill’s enactment, the FAA is required to implement a communications strategy to:

• Engage and inform the public about the reporting process for UAP incidents.
• Reduce stigma associated with the reporting of UAP sightings to encourage more individuals to come forward.

Reporting Systems

The FAA will also need to establish a specific reporting system, which may either integrate with the existing Aviation Safety Reporting Program or create a new system specifically for UAP. Any system developed must allow for detailed reporting, including descriptions of the phenomena and their behaviors.

Definitions

The bill provides definitions for key terms:

• **Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)**: Includes airborne objects that aren’t easily identifiable, devices that transition between different environments (like water and air), and submerged objects that show unusual behavior.
• **Transmedium Object or Device**: An object that can be observed moving between space, the atmosphere, and water, and is not immediately identifiable.

Sense of Congress

The bill concludes with a statement reflecting the views of Congress, emphasizing the importance of reporting UAP encounters and advocating for the reduction of stigma associated with these reports.

Relevant Companies

None found.