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Title 41

This content is from the eCFR and is authoritative but unofficial.

Displaying title 41, up to date as of 8/06/2026. Title 41 was last amended 7/30/2026.
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  1. Title 41 —Public Contracts and Property Management
  2. Subtitle C —Federal Property Management Regulations System
  3. Chapter 102 —Federal Management Regulation
  4. Subchapter B —Personal Property
  5. Part 102-33 —Management of Government Aircraft
  6. Subpart C
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Subpart C—Government Aircraft and Aircraft Parts

§ 102-33.75 Federal aircraft management responsibilities.

You must:

(a) Establish agency-specific Flight Program Standards;

(b) Account for the cost of acquiring, operating, and supporting your aircraft;

(c) Account for the use of your aircraft;

(d) Maintain and account for aircraft parts;

(e) Report inventory, cost, and utilization data; and

(f) Properly dispose of aircraft and parts.

§ 102-33.80 Management responsibilities when hiring CAS.

When hiring CAS, you must:

(a) Establish agency-specific Flight Program Standards as applicable and require compliance with these standards in your contracts and agreements;

(b) Account for the cost of your aircraft and services hired as CAS;

(c) Account for the use of your aircraft hired as CAS; and

(d) Report the cost and usage data for your CAS hires.

§ 102-33.85 Management accountability and controls for aviation programs.

You must follow OMB Circular A-123 to establish management controls that ensure your aviation program meets its goals and aligns with your agency's mission.

§ 102-33.90 Flight Program Standards.

Flight Program Standards are the minimum requirements to ensure safe, effective, and efficient aircraft operation. They must:

(a) Be specific to your agency's aviation operations, including your CAS;

(b) Meet the requirements identified in §§ 102-33.105 through 102-33.135;

(c) Meet applicable civil or military rules (in particular 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(37) and 40125), and applicable FAA regulations in 14 CFR); and

(d) Incorporate risk management techniques when civil or military rules do not apply.

§ 102-33.95 Establishing Flight Program Standards.

You must establish Flight Program Standards to address areas not covered by 14 CFR, such as non-certificated aircraft or high-risk operations.

§ 102-33.100 Exemptions from establishing Flight Program Standards.

(a) The Armed Forces (including the U.S. Coast Guard);

(b) Agencies in the Intelligence Community;

(c) Entities outside the executive branch when using aircraft loaned to them by an executive agency (that is, owned by an executive agency, but operated by and on behalf of the loanee) unless the loanee—

(1) Uses the aircraft to conduct official Government business; or

(2) Is required to follow §§ 102-33.105 through 102-33.135 under an Agreement governing the loan.

§ 102-33.105 Establishing Flight Program Standards.

You must write, publish, implement, and comply with standards (specific to your agency), which establish or require policies and procedures for:

(a) Management/administration of your flight program (in this part, “flight program” includes CAS contracts);

(b) Operation of your flight program;

(c) Maintenance of your Government aircraft;

(d) Training for your flight program personnel;

(e) Safety of your flight program;

(f) Accident reporting and investigation as appropriate; and

(g) Reporting to FAIRS as required by this part.

§ 102-33.110 Flight Program Operation Standards.

For management/administration of your flight program, you must establish or require—

(a) A management structure overseeing operations, safety, training, maintenance, and finances (including contract requirements); and

(b) Guidance on roles, responsibilities, and authority of flight program personnel.

§ 102-33.115 Flight program operations.

You must establish or require:

(a) Qualifications and currency requirements for pilots, crewmembers, maintenance, administrative, and mission personnel;

(b) Duty and flight time limitations for pilots and crewmembers;

(c) Procedures to track flight time, duty time, training, and medical requirements;

(d) Compliance with safety notices and operational bulletins;

(e) Flight-following procedures for lost or downed aircraft;

(f) Disclosure statement for crewmembers and qualified non-crewmembers flying aboard Government aircraft;

(g) Manifest with full names, contact info, and flight details for each flight leg;

(h) Documentation and retention of manifest changes for two years;

(i) Procedures to reconcile manifests and test periodically;

(j) Weight, balance, and cargo-loading manifest with retention for 30 days;

(k) Emergency procedures and equipment for specific missions;

(l) ALSE inspection and serviceability procedures; and

(m) Pre-flight risk assessment, including weather, crew rest, flight type, and crew makeup.

§ 102-33.120 Maintenance of Government aircraft.

You must establish or require:

(a) Procedures to record and track duty time and training of maintenance personnel;

(b) Aircraft maintenance and inspection programs that comply with whichever is most applicable among—

(1) Programs for ex-military aircraft;

(2) Manufacturers' programs;

(3) FAA-approved programs;

(4) FAA-accepted programs; or

(5) Your agency's self-prescribed programs;

(c) Compliance with owning-agency or military safety of flight notices, FAA airworthiness directives, advisory circulars and orders, or mandatory manufacturers' bulletins applicable to the types of aircraft, engines, propellers, and appliances you operate;

(d) Procedures for operating aircraft with inoperable instruments and equipment;

(e) Technical support, including appropriate engineering documentation and testing, for aircraft, powerplant, propeller, or appliance repairs, modifications, or equipment installations;

(f) A quality control system to ensure replacement parts are suitable, documented, safe for flight, and properly inspected or tested; and

(g) Procedures for recording and tracking maintenance actions; inspections; and the flight hours, cycles, and calendar times of life-limited parts and FSCAP.

§ 102-33.125 Training requirements.

You must establish or require training standards, including initial and recurring instruction for flight personnel on roles, responsibilities, and operational skills.

§ 102-33.130 Aviation safety management.

You must establish or require the following aviation safety management standards:

(a) A Safety Management System (SMS) that complies with the FAA's current Advisory Circular (AC) that addresses SMSs or an equivalent internationally recognized SMS standard. The SMS should include:

(1) Policies that assign SMS roles, with senior management ultimately responsible and qualified safety managers or officers appointed to oversee the aviation safety program, who should be:

(i) Experienced as pilots, crewmembers, or in aviation or maintenance program management; and

(ii) Graduated or certificated from an approved aviation safety officer course before or within one year of appointment; and

(2) An accident prevention program that includes:

(i) Measurable procedures;

(ii) A system to share safety information;

(iii) Safety training;

(iv) An aviation safety awards program, including Federal Aviation Awards; and

(v) A safety council or committee (for agencies owning aircraft);

(b) Risk management procedures that identify and reduce hazards using formal controls and advise senior managers on optimal risk mitigation;

(c) Policies requiring independent inspectors to verify compliance with these standards;

(d) Procedures allowing reprisal-free reporting of unsafe operations to aviation safety officers and managers;

(e) A system to collect and report information on aircraft accidents and incidents (as required by 49 CFR part 830 and § 102-33.270);

(f) Policies that identify clear standards for acceptable behavior; and

(g) A security program that includes:

(1) A designated security manager;

(2) A threat assessment process;

(3) Procedures for preventing and deterring unlawful acts;

(4) Procedures for responding to threats and unlawful acts;

(5) Security training for personnel; and

(6) Policies and procedures for a mail security plan that meet the requirements in 41 CFR part 102-192, including protections against mail-borne hazards for staff and facilities, especially when using aircraft for mail delivery.

§ 102-33.135 Responding to aircraft accidents and incidents.

(a) You must establish or require the following standards for responding to aircraft accidents and incidents:

(1) A policy ensuring compliance with NTSB reporting rules (49 CFR parts 830 and 831), including immediate NTSB notification of accidents/incidents and a method for notifying GSA as required in § 102-33.270;

(2) An accident/incident response plan based on the NTSB's “Federal Plan,” with periodic exercises, and procedures (per FAA AC 120-92) to identify potential accidents or incidents;

(3) Procedures for participating in NTSB investigations of agency-owned or hired aircraft, and for conducting parallel investigations when appropriate;

(4) Accident/incident investigation training for personnel involved in NTSB or parallel investigations; and

(5) Procedures for disseminating, in the event of an aviation disaster that involves one of your Government aircraft, information about eligibility for benefits to anyone injured, to the injured or deceased persons' points of contact (listed on the manifest), and to the families of injured or deceased crewmembers and qualified non-crewmembers.

(b) This section does not supersede 49 CFR parts 830 and 831.

§ 102-33.140 Accountable aircraft operations and ownership costs.

You must account for the operations and ownership costs of your Government aircraft, including UAS, as outlined in the U.S. Government Aircraft CAG at gsa.gov/aviationpolicy, in accordance with OMB Circular A-126. At a minimum, you must:

(a) Justify acquisitions to support the agency's aviation program;

(b) Justify the use of Government aircraft in lieu of commercially available aircraft, and the use of one Government aircraft in lieu of another;

(c) Develop a variable cost rate for each aircraft or aircraft type in your inventory;

(d) Recover the costs of operating Government aircraft;

(e) Determine the cost effectiveness of various aspects of agency aircraft programs; and

(f) Accumulate aircraft program costs following the procedures defined in the CAG.

§ 102-33.145 Automated system for accounting aircraft costs.

(a) If you own Federal aircraft or operate bailed aircraft, you must use an automated system to track aircraft costs by collecting FAIRS-required data.

(b) Agencies using only CAS aircraft and no Federal aircraft must keep records sufficient for FAIRS reporting, but are not required to have an automated system. See §§ 102-33.260 and 102-33.265 for CAS reporting requirements.

§ 102-33.150 Federal aircraft ownership justification.

After you have held a Federal aircraft for five years, you must:

(a) Justify owning and operating the aircraft by reviewing your operations and establishing that you have a continuing need for the aircraft, using the procedures required in OMB Circular A-76 and OMB Circular A-11, Part 7, Appendix B; and

(b) Review the continuing need for each of your aircraft and the cost-effectiveness of your aircraft operations as directed by OMB Circulars A-11 and A-76, every five years.

§ 102-33.155 Recovering operating cost.

(a) Under 31 U.S.C. 1535 and other statutes, you may need to recover aircraft operating costs for supporting other agencies. The method for setting rates will depend on the statutory authorities under which you acquired and operate your aircraft:

(1) The variable cost recovery rate; or

(2) The full cost recovery rate.

(b) See the U.S. Government Aircraft CAG for definitions.

§ 102-33.160 Accounting for the use of Government aircraft.

When accounting for the use of Government aircraft, including UAS, you must document all flights and keep this documentation for two years after the date of the flight. For each flight, record the:

(a) Aircraft's registration mark;

(b) Owner and operator;

(c) Purpose of the flight;

(d) Departure and destination points;

(e) Flight dates and times;

(f) Manifest; and

(g) Names of the pilots and crewmembers.

§ 102-33.165 Carrying passengers on Government aircraft.

(a) You may carry passengers only on aircraft that you operate or require contractually to be operated in accordance with the rules and requirements in 14 CFR; and

(b) For certain kinds of travel, your agency must justify passengers' presence on Government aircraft.

Note 1 to § 102-33.165:

See OMB Circular A-126 and the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) in 41 CFR subtitle F for complete information on authorizing travel and analyzing costs before authorizing travel on Government aircraft.

§ 102-33.170 Aircraft parts management.

You must manage aircraft parts by ensuring proper storage, protection, maintenance, and recordkeeping throughout their life cycle.

§ 102-33.175 The use of military FSCAP on non-military FAA-type certificated Government aircraft.

You may use dual-use military FSCAP on non-military aircraft operated under restricted or standard airworthiness certificates if the parts are inspected and approved for such installation by the FAA. See detailed guidance in FAA Advisory Circular 20-142, Change (1).

§ 102-33.180 Life-limited parts and FSCAP.

For life-limited parts and FSCAP, you must hold and update the documentation that accompanies these parts for as long as you use or store them. When you dispose of life-limited parts or FSCAP, the up-to-date documentation must accompany the parts.

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