The FAA has published version 1.0 of its plan to take lead out of aviation gasoline by 2030, and the summary of the comments that shaped it is still to come

2030 is the date Congress wrote down.

Section 827 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 directed the agency to build a plan that would safely move the piston-engine aircraft fleet off leaded aviation gasoline by then, to the extent practicable. On Friday morning the Federal Aviation Administration filed notice that version 1.0 of that plan exists. The draft it replaces went out for comment on 12 January this year at 91 FR 1230, was corrected four days later at 91 FR 2268, and closed on 13 March after 60 days.

The FAA says the update adds detail and clarification throughout the document in response to what came back. It does not say what came back.

Four things deferred

The notice lists four areas the agency has flagged for future updates, and one of them is the record of the consultation itself. There is a progress update to come on Phase 1, Fuels Evaluation and Authorization. There is a commitment to release version 2.0 of the plan when Phase 1 concludes, to inform the phases after it. There are frequently asked questions to be developed. And there is a document summarising the public comments, which is on the list of things still to come rather than among the things published this week.

The plan sits on top of EAGLE, the government and industry initiative whose name stands for Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions, and which was running before the statute arrived. What the statute added was a year.

The document itself is a PDF on the FAA's unleaded aviation gasoline page, carrying 28 July in its filename. The notice was issued in Washington on 30 July and signed by Caitlin Locke, the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Oversight and Certification. It sets no comment period, it takes no rulemaking action, and it approves no fuel.

Version 2.0 is already promised.