49 U.S.C. § 40102 : US Code - Section 40102: Definitions

Search 49 U.S.C. § 40102 : US Code - Section 40102: Definitions

(a) General Definitions. - In this part -
(1) "aeronautics" means the science and art of flight.
(2) "air carrier" means a citizen of the United States
undertaking by any means, directly or indirectly, to provide air
transportation.
(3) "air commerce" means foreign air commerce, interstate air
commerce, the transportation of mail by aircraft, the operation
of aircraft within the limits of a Federal airway, or the
operation of aircraft that directly affects, or may endanger
safety in, foreign or interstate air commerce.
(4) "air navigation facility" means a facility used, available
for use, or designed for use, in aid of air navigation, including
-
(A) a landing area;
(B) a light;
(C) apparatus or equipment for distributing weather
information, signaling, radio-directional finding, or radio or
other electromagnetic communication; and
(D) another structure or mechanism for guiding or controlling
flight in the air or the landing and takeoff of aircraft.
(5) "air transportation" means foreign air transportation,
interstate air transportation, or the transportation of mail by
aircraft.
(6) "aircraft" means any contrivance invented, used, or
designed to navigate, or fly in, the air.
(7) "aircraft engine" means an engine used, or intended to be
used, to propel an aircraft, including a part, appurtenance, and
accessory of the engine, except a propeller.
(8) "airman" means an individual -
(A) in command, or as pilot, mechanic, or member of the crew,
who navigates aircraft when under way;
(B) except to the extent the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration may provide otherwise for individuals
employed outside the United States, who is directly in charge
of inspecting, maintaining, overhauling, or repairing aircraft,
aircraft engines, propellers, or appliances; or
(C) who serves as an aircraft dispatcher or air traffic
control-tower operator.
(9) "airport" means a landing area used regularly by aircraft
for receiving or discharging passengers or cargo.
(10) "all-cargo air transportation" means the transportation by
aircraft in interstate air transportation of only property or
only mail, or both.
(11) "appliance" means an instrument, equipment, apparatus, a
part, an appurtenance, or an accessory used, capable of being
used, or intended to be used, in operating or controlling
aircraft in flight, including a parachute, communication
equipment, and another mechanism installed in or attached to
aircraft during flight, and not a part of an aircraft, aircraft
engine, or propeller.
(12) "cargo" means property, mail, or both.
(13) "charter air carrier" means an air carrier holding a
certificate of public convenience and necessity that authorizes
it to provide charter air transportation.
(14) "charter air transportation" means charter trips in air
transportation authorized under this part.
(15) "citizen of the United States" means -
(A) an individual who is a citizen of the United States;
(B) a partnership each of whose partners is an individual who
is a citizen of the United States; or
(C) a corporation or association organized under the laws of
the United States or a State, the District of Columbia, or a
territory or possession of the United States, of which the
president and at least two-thirds of the board of directors and
other managing officers are citizens of the United States,
which is under the actual control of citizens of the United
States, and in which at least 75 percent of the voting interest
is owned or controlled by persons that are citizens of the
United States.
(16) "civil aircraft" means an aircraft except a public
aircraft.
(17) "civil aircraft of the United States" means an aircraft
registered under chapter 441 of this title.
(18) "conditional sales contract" means a contract -
(A) for the sale of an aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller,
appliance, or spare part, under which the buyer takes
possession of the property but title to the property vests in
the buyer at a later time on -
(i) paying any part of the purchase price;
(ii) performing another condition; or
(iii) the happening of a contingency; or
(B) to bail or lease an aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller,
appliance, or spare part, under which the bailee or lessee -
(i) agrees to pay an amount substantially equal to the
value of the property; and
(ii) is to become, or has the option of becoming, the owner
of the property on complying with the contract.
(19) "conveyance" means an instrument, including a conditional
sales contract, affecting title to, or an interest in, property.
(20) "Federal airway" means a part of the navigable airspace
that the Administrator designates as a Federal airway.
(21) "foreign air carrier" means a person, not a citizen of the
United States, undertaking by any means, directly or indirectly,
to provide foreign air transportation.
(22) "foreign air commerce" means the transportation of
passengers or property by aircraft for compensation, the
transportation of mail by aircraft, or the operation of aircraft
in furthering a business or vocation, between a place in the
United States and a place outside the United States when any part
of the transportation or operation is by aircraft.
(23) "foreign air transportation" means the transportation of
passengers or property by aircraft as a common carrier for
compensation, or the transportation of mail by aircraft, between
a place in the United States and a place outside the United
States when any part of the transportation is by aircraft.
(24) "interstate air commerce" means the transportation of
passengers or property by aircraft for compensation, the
transportation of mail by aircraft, or the operation of aircraft
in furthering a business or vocation -
(A) between a place in -
(i) a State, territory, or possession of the United States
and a place in the District of Columbia or another State,
territory, or possession of the United States;
(ii) a State and another place in the same State through
the airspace over a place outside the State;
(iii) the District of Columbia and another place in the
District of Columbia; or
(iv) a territory or possession of the United States and
another place in the same territory or possession; and
(B) when any part of the transportation or operation is by
aircraft.
(25) "interstate air transportation" means the transportation
of passengers or property by aircraft as a common carrier for
compensation, or the transportation of mail by aircraft -
(A) between a place in -
(i) a State, territory, or possession of the United States
and a place in the District of Columbia or another State,
territory, or possession of the United States;
(ii) Hawaii and another place in Hawaii through the
airspace over a place outside Hawaii;
(iii) the District of Columbia and another place in the
District of Columbia; or
(iv) a territory or possession of the United States and
another place in the same territory or possession; and
(B) when any part of the transportation is by aircraft.
(26) "intrastate air carrier" means a citizen of the United
States undertaking by any means to provide only intrastate air
transportation.
(27) "intrastate air transportation" means the transportation
by a common carrier of passengers or property for compensation,
entirely in the same State, by turbojet-powered aircraft capable
of carrying at least 30 passengers.
(28) "landing area" means a place on land or water, including
an airport or intermediate landing field, used, or intended to be
used, for the takeoff and landing of aircraft, even when
facilities are not provided for sheltering, servicing, or
repairing aircraft, or for receiving or discharging passengers or
cargo.
(29) "large hub airport" means a commercial service airport (as
defined in section 47102) that has at least 1.0 percent of the
passenger boardings.
(30) "mail" means United States mail and foreign transit mail.
(31) "medium hub airport" means a commercial service airport
(as defined in section 47102) that has at least 0.25 percent but
less than 1.0 percent of the passenger boardings.
(32) "navigable airspace" means airspace above the minimum
altitudes of flight prescribed by regulations under this subpart
and subpart III of this part, including airspace needed to ensure
safety in the takeoff and landing of aircraft.
(33) "navigate aircraft" and "navigation of aircraft" include
piloting aircraft.
(34) "nonhub airport" means a commercial service airport (as
defined in section 47102) that has less than 0.05 percent of the
passenger boardings.
(35) "operate aircraft" and "operation of aircraft" mean using
aircraft for the purposes of air navigation, including -
(A) the navigation of aircraft; and
(B) causing or authorizing the operation of aircraft with or
without the right of legal control of the aircraft.
(36) "passenger boardings" -
(A) means, unless the context indicates otherwise, revenue
passenger boardings in the United States in the prior calendar
year on an aircraft in service in air commerce, as the
Secretary determines under regulations the Secretary
prescribes; and
(B) includes passengers who continue on an aircraft in
international flight that stops at an airport in the 48
contiguous States, Alaska, or Hawaii for a nontraffic purpose.
(37) "person", in addition to its meaning under section 1 of
title 1, includes a governmental authority and a trustee,
receiver, assignee, and other similar representative.
(38) "predatory" means a practice that violates the antitrust
laws as defined in the first section of the Clayton Act (15
U.S.C. 12).
(39) "price" means a rate, fare, or charge.
(40) "propeller" includes a part, appurtenance, and accessory
of a propeller.
(41) "public aircraft" means any of the following:
(A) Except with respect to an aircraft described in
subparagraph (E), an aircraft used only for the United States
Government, except as provided in section 40125(b).
(B) An aircraft owned by the Government and operated by any
person for purposes related to crew training, equipment
development, or demonstration, except as provided in section
40125(b).
(C) An aircraft owned and operated by the government of a
State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession
of the United States or a political subdivision of one of these
governments, except as provided in section 40125(b).
(D) An aircraft exclusively leased for at least 90 continuous
days by the government of a State, the District of Columbia, or
a territory or possession of the United States or a political
subdivision of one of these governments, except as provided in
section 40125(b).
(E) An aircraft owned or operated by the armed forces or
chartered to provide transportation to the armed forces under
the conditions specified by section 40125(c).
(42) "small hub airport" means a commercial service airport (as
defined in section 47102) that has at least 0.05 percent but less
than 0.25 percent of the passenger boardings.
(43) "spare part" means an accessory, appurtenance, or part of
an aircraft (except an aircraft engine or propeller), aircraft
engine (except a propeller), propeller, or appliance, that is to
be installed at a later time in an aircraft, aircraft engine,
propeller, or appliance.
(44) "State authority" means an authority of a State designated
under State law -
(A) to receive notice required to be given a State authority
under subpart II of this part; or
(B) as the representative of the State before the Secretary
of Transportation in any matter about which the Secretary is
required to consult with or consider the views of a State
authority under subpart II of this part.
(45) "ticket agent" means a person (except an air carrier, a
foreign air carrier, or an employee of an air carrier or foreign
air carrier) that as a principal or agent sells, offers for sale,
negotiates for, or holds itself out as selling, providing, or
arranging for, air transportation.
(46) "United States" means the States of the United States, the
District of Columbia, and the territories and possessions of the
United States, including the territorial sea and the overlying
airspace.
(47) "air traffic control system" means the combination of
elements used to safely and efficiently monitor, direct, control,
and guide aircraft in the United States and United States-
assigned airspace, including -
(A) allocated electromagnetic spectrum and physical, real,
personal, and intellectual property assets making up
facilities, equipment, and systems employed to detect, track,
and guide aircraft movement;
(B) laws, regulations, orders, directives, agreements, and
licenses;
(C) published procedures that explain required actions,
activities, and techniques used to ensure adequate aircraft
separation; and
(D) trained personnel with specific technical capabilities to
satisfy the operational, engineering, management, and planning
requirements for air traffic control.
(b) Limited Definition. - In subpart II of this part, "control"
means control by any means.