"STATES, TERRITORIES, AND POSSESSIONS "REGULATION "SEC. 802. (a) The regulation of air commerce is declared to be a matter of special national interest. No State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or subdivision thereof, shall regulate air commerce nor shall it impose or enforce any regulation in a manner which hinders, burdens, or interferes with the free flow of such commerce or substantially impairs uniformity in the conditions pursuant to which such commerce is conducted throughout the United States. "TAXATION "(b) The multiple taxation of air carriers and of air contractors, or of their operations or properties, is declared to be contrary to the public interest. No State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or subdivision thereof, shall impose or enforce any tax, assessment, fee, or levy upon any air carrier or air contractor, or upon its operations or properties, in a manner, or on a basis, which results or is likely to result in multiple taxation or in a payment by such carrier or contractor of more than an amount fairly allocable to such State, Territory, or possession having in view the operations, if any, of such carrier or contractor outside such State, Territory, or possession." SEC. 35. Section 803 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by striking out the words "not to exceed ten members" and in lieu thereof inserting the words" at least fifty members". SEC. 36. The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by inserting after section 803 the following new section: "NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS "SEC. 804. The Authority and the Administrator, respectively, shall from time to time make recommendations to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics concerning research projects, for the consideration and attention of that committee, which may most effectively contribute to the safety and efficiency of civil aeronautics." SEC. 37. Section 901 (a) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Any person who violates (1) any provision of title V, VI, or VII of this Act or any order, rule, regulation, or certificate issued thereunder, (2) any provision of subsection (a) (1) of section 11 of the Air Commerce Act of 1926, as amended, or (3) any rule or regulation issued by the Postmaster General under this Act, shall be subject to a cavil penalty of not to exceed $1,000 for each such violation. Any such penalty may be compromised by the Authority or the Postmaster General, as the case may be. The amount of such penalty, when finally determined, or the amount agreed upon in compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by the United States to the person charged.' SEC. 38. Section 902 (a) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after the words "or permit" the words "or license", and by adding after the words "title IV" the words "or title IV A". SEC. 39. Section 902 (b) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after the words "certificates" in the title of such section the words ", permits or licenses"; and by adding after the word "certificate" in each place where it appears in such section the words ", permit or license". SEC. 40. Section 902 (d) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by inserting after the words "foreign air carrier" the words "or air contractor". SEC. 41. Section 902 (e) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by inserting after the words "air carrier" the words "or air contractor". SEC. 42. Section 902 (f) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by inserting after the words "air carrier" the words "or air contractor". SEC. 43. Section 1002 (d) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after the words "air carriers" in the title of such section the words "and air contractors"; by inserting after the designation "(d)" the further designation "(1)"; by adding after the words "air carrier" in such section the words "or foreign air carrier"; by striking out the words "interstate or overseas" in such section; by striking out the proviso at the end of such section; and by adding at the end of such section the following: "(2) Whenever, after notice and hearing, upon complaint, or upon its own initiative, the Authority shall be of the opinion that any minimum rate, fare, or charge of any air contractor, or any classification, rule, regulation, or practice affecting such rate, fare, or charge, or the value of the service thereunder, is or will be in violation of this Act, the Authority shall determine and prescribe the lawful minimum rate, fare, or charge thereafter to be demanded, charged, collected, or received, or the lawful classification, rule, regulation, or practice thereafter to be made effective, by the air contractor." SEC. 44. Section 1002 (e) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after the words "air carriers", wherever those words appear in such section, the words "or air contractors", and by adding after the words "air carrier", wherever those words appear in such section, the words "or air contractor". SEC. 45 The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby further amended by striking out section 1002 (f). SEC. 46. Section 1002 (g) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by changing the designation thereof to "(f) (1)"; by inserting after the words "air carrier", wherever they appear therein, the words "or foreign air carrier"; by inserting after the words "between air carriers” therein the words "or between air carriers and foreign air carriers or between foreign air carriers subject to this Act"; by striking out the words "interstate or overseas"; and by adding at the end of such section the following: "(2) Whenever any air contractor shall file with the Authority a schedule stating a rate, fare, or charge for a new service, or a reduced rate, fare, or charge, or any classification, rule, regulation, or practice affecting any rate, fare, or charge, or the value of the service thereunder, the Authority is empowered, upon complaint or upon its own initiative, at once, and, if it so orders, without answer or other formal pleading by the air contractor, but upon reasonable notice, to enter upon a hearing concerning the lawfulness of such rate, fare, or charge, or such classification, or practice; and pending such hearing, and the decision thereon, the Authority, by filing with such schedule and delivering to the air contractor affected thereby, a statement in writing of its reasons for such suspension, may suspend the operation of such rate, fare, or charge, or such classification, rule, regulation, or practice for a period of ninety days, and, if the proceeding has not been concluded and a final order made within such period, the Authority may from time to time extend the period of suspension, but not for a longer period in the aggregate than one hundred and eighty days beyond the time when such rate, fare, or charge, or such classification, rule, regulation, or practice would otherwise go into effect; and, after hearing, whether completed before or after the rate, fare, charge, classification, rule, regulation, or practice goes into effect, the Authority may make such order with reference thereto as would be proper in a proceeding instituted after such rate, fare, charge, classification, rule, regulation, or practice had become effective. If the proceeding has not been concluded and an order made within the period of suspension, the proposed rate, fare, charge, classification, rule, regulation, or practice shall go into effect at the end of such period: Provided, That this subsection shall not apply to any initial schedule filed by any air contractor." SEC. 47. Section 1002 (h) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by changing the designation thereof to "(g)". SEC. 48. Section 1005 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is amended by adding to the end thereof a new subsection as follows: "RECONSIDERATION "(g) After an order has been made by the Authority in any proceeding, any party thereto may, within the time specified by the Authority, make application for reconsideration of the same or any matter determined therein and it shall be lawful for the Authority in its discretion to grant such reconsideration if sufficient reason therefor be made to appear. No application for reconsideration shall excuse any person from complying with or obeying any order of the Authority or operate in any manner to stay or postpone the enforcement thereof without special order of the Authority. In case a re consideration is granted and it shall appear to the Authority that the original order is in any respect unjust or unwarranted, the Authority may reverse, change, or modify the same accordingly. Any order made after such reconsideration reversing, changing, or modifying the original determination shall be subject to the same provisions as the original order." SEC. 49. Subsection (a) of section 1006 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "Any order, affirmative or negative, issued by the Authority, under this Act, except any order in respect of any foreign air carrier subject to the approval of the President as provided in section 801 of the Act, shall be subject to review by the Circuit Courts of Appeals of the United States or the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upon petition filed by any person disclosing a substantial interest in such order within sixty days after the day upon which the time for securing reconsideration of such order by the Authority has elapsed: Provided, That if an application for reconsideration of such order is filed, such sixty-day period shall not begin to run until the day upon which the Authority disposes of such application. After the expiration of the time specified for the filing of petitions for review, such a petition may be filed only by leave of the court upon a showing of reasonable grounds for failure to file petition theretofore." SEC. 50. Section 1002 (i) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by changing the designation thereof to "(h)"; by striking out the words "interstate or overseas"; and by striking out the proviso at the end of such section. SEC. 51. Section 1005 (b) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after the words "foreign air carrier" the words "and air contractor", and by adding after the word "carrier" the words "or contractor". SEC. 52. Section 1007 (a) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after the words "or permit" the words "or license"; and by adding after the words "section 401 (a)" the words ", 402 (a), or 4101 (a)". SEC. 53. Section 1007 (b) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after the words "or permit" the words "or license". SEC. 54. Section 1009 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after the words "or permit" the words "or license". SEC. 55. Section 1103 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "tariffs,", in each place where it appears in such section, the word "schedules,". SEC. 56. Section 1101 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is* hereby amended to read as follows: "WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION AND RELATED LIABILITY "SEC. 1101. In order to prevent uncertainty and confusion and to reduce the necessity for litigation with respect to the liability of air carriers and air contractors on account of injury or death to employees arising out of or in the course of their employment, the Authority shall promulgate regulations which thereupon shall govern the choice of law defining such liability as between the statutory or other laws of the several States, Territories, possessions, or other governments which may be concerned." SEC. 57. The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended, is hereby further amended by inserting a new section immediately following section 1101 and by changing the numbering of the succeeding sections accordingly. Such new section shall read as follows: "PILOT'S AND COPILOT'S AUTHORITY "SEC. 1102. (a) The pilot or copilot of any aircraft shall have authority while such aircraft is engaged in operation in air commerce, including the time such aircraft is on the ground en route "(1) to require any passenger or member of the crew in such aircraft to occupy such position within the aircraft, or to impose such restraints upon any passenger or member of the crew in such aircraft, as considerations of safety or the reasonable comfort of other passengers or members of the crew may, in the judgment of such pilot or copilot, reasonably necessitate; "(2) to make such disposition of any property (including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, mail, baggage, and personal effects) aboard such aircraft as cosiderations of safety may, in the judgment of such pilot or copilot, reasonably necessitate, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, authority to cast any such matter overboard. "IMMUNITY "(b) Neither a pilot nor copilot, nor his employer, nor any other person shall incur any liability, civil or criminal, on account of any action taken pursuant to this section. "DEFINITIONS "(c) As used in this section, the terms 'pilot' and 'copilot' shall have the meanings assigned to them by section 401 (1) (5) of this Act." SEC. 58. The following Act, to be cited as the "Air Carriers Liability Act of 1943", is hereby adopted: "TITLE I "DEFINITIONS "SEC. 101. As used in this Act, unless the context indicates a contrary intention "(1) Terms appearing herein which are defined in the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as heretofore or hereafter amended, shall have the same meaning as provided in such Act. "(2) Air express agency' means any person undertaking, for compensation, to forward goods by aircraft for the whole or a part of the distance to be traversed. "(3) 'Baggage' means all articles of personal property which are transported by aircraft in the custody of an operator or an air express agency on a passenger ticket or passenger pass. Such property shall be considered baggage during the period within which it is in the custody of the operator or the air express agency. "(4) 'Goods' means all articles of personal property other than personal effects and baggage and United States mails which are transported either for compensation or gratuitously by aircraft pursuant to a contract of carriage in the custody of an operator or an air express agency. Such property shall be considered goods during the period within which it is in the custody of the operator of the air express agency. "(5) Operator' means the person who holds title to an aircraft, subject to the following provisions: "(a) The person in whose name an aircraft is registered with the Civil Aeronautics Authority shall be prima facie the holder of title. "(b) If the title to the aircraft is in a lessor, bailor, mortgagee, conditional seller, assignee, trustee for creditors, receiver, or any person having a security title only, the person who exercises ultimate control over the aircraft shall be deemed to be the operator. "(c) A person shall not be deemed the operator if the aircraft has been unlawfully taken from his possession; but in such case the person unlawfully in possession; but in such case the person unlawfully in possession of the aircraft shall be deemed the operator. "(6) 'Passenger" means any individual (excluding trespassers and employees of the operator while acting within the scope of their employment) in, on, or boarding an aircraft for the purpose of riding therein or disembarking from the aircraft following a flight or attempted flight therein, or, in the case of an accidental or unintended termination of flight, reasonably seeking to reach a place of safety. "(7) 'Personal effects' means all articles of personal property which are retained by a passenger in his own possession during transportation by aircraft. Such property shall be considered personal effects during the period in which the individual in whose possession they are is a passenger. "(8) 'Publicly operated aircraft' means an aircraft operated by the government of a foreign nation, of the United States, of the District of Columbia, or of any State of the United States, or of any district, Territory, or possession of the United States, or any subdivision of any of the foregoing, while in use for a governmental purpose. "EXEMPTION "SEC. 102. This Act shall not apply to operators of publicly operated aircraft without the express consent of the government operating such aircraft. "SCOPE OF THE ACT "SEC. 103. This Act shall apply although the loss or accident occurred under such circumstances as to bring it within the scope of admiralty jurisdiction. The liability imposed by this Act shall not be limited or extended by Federal statutes applying to vessels. "This Act shall not apply where its application conflicts with any international convention to which the United States is or shall be a party. "TITLE II "LIABILITY FOR BODILY INJURY OR DEATH TO PASSENGERS "SCOPE OF TITLE "SEC. 201. This title shall apply to all bodily injuries or death to passengers in interstate, overseas, or foreign air commerce, if such injuries or death occurred within the United States, its Territories, possessions, or on or over the high seas. "LIABILITY IMPOSED "SEC. 202. The operator of an aircraft shall be liable for bodily injury or death within the scope of this title if such injury or death occurred while the individual injured or killed was a passenger of the operator unless such operator proves affirmatively that the injury or death did not proximately result from willful misconduct or a failure to use the highest degree of care on the part of himself or any of his servants acting within the scope of their employment. "CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE "SEC. 203. The operator shall not be liable if the negligence or willful misconduct of the passenger injured or killed caused or contributed to the injury or death. "RIGHT OF ACTION IN CASES OF DEATH "SEC. 204. In case of death the personal representative of the decedent may maintain a suit for damages for the benefit of the decedent's wife, husband, parent, child, or dependent relative. Amounts recovered in such actions shall not be subject to claims of creditors of the deceased. "EXTENT OF LIABILITY "SEC. 205. In cases of bodily injury the recovery shall be to the extent of the actual damage but not to exceed $10,000. In cases of death the recovery shall be a fair and just compensation not to exceed $10,000 for the pecuniary loss sustained by the persons for whose benefit the suit is brought and shall be apportioned among them by the court in proportion to the loss they may severally have suffered by reason of the death of the person by whose representative the suit is brought. "PERSONAL INJURY ACTIONS TO SURVIVE UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES ONLY "SEC. 206. If plaintiff, during pendency of an action for personal injuries under this title, dies as a result of such injuries, his personal representative may be substituted as a party and the suit may proceed as an action for death under this title. The right of action of a deceased for bodily injury under this title shall not survive if death resulted from such injury. A settlement or recovery of a judgment for bodily injury under this title shall preclude a subsequent action |