Opportunity for Operators To Drum Up Additional
Support
Air tour operators have
been holding their breath over the last few weeks, as the January
20 deadline for comment on the FAA's latest regulatory hammer drew
near. However, late Wednesday night, the agency decided to extend
the deadline to April 19, 2004 and that bit of extra time is giving
operators the opportunity to gather additional support against the
devastating proposal.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would raise the minimum
number of hours required for pilots conducting charity fund raising
flights from 200 to 500 and remove an exemption that allows Part 91
sightseeing flights within 25 nm of an airport. The rule, if
adopted, would also force Part 91 operators to upgrade to at least
Part 135 status to continue offering sightseeing flights.
One of the primary issues that concerns the air tour industry is
the perceived reduced safety standard. While the FAA claims the
proposed rule "is intended to increase the safety of commercial air
tours," the exact opposite may happen. Currently, sightseeing
aircraft operate between 500 and 1,000 feet AGL depending on
aircraft type and the areas over which they are flying. The new
rule would set the limit at 1,000 feet for all sightseeing
aircraft. And since the goal of sightseeing is to get as close to
the "sights" as possible, that means all aircraft will operate
right on that limit. Not a good thing.
The FAA cited "accidents and incidents involving air tour
operators" as one justification for this new proposed rule.
However, some leaders in the air tour community claim the agency is
mixing aeronautical apples with oranges. Greg Herrick, president of
the Aviation Foundation of America (AFA), recently offered the
industry his opinion on the FAA's interpretation of accident data.
Herrick wrote, "According to the NPRM item IB, the bulk of FAA's
concern for safety of commercial air tour operators is with
helicopters, flying over water and multi engine fixed wing aircraft
carrying revenue passengers. Only one accident involving a single
engine biplane was cited but it doesn't indicate if the flight was
conducted under Part 91. All the other accidents cited are
helicopters, multi-engine fixed wing type aircraft and over water
tours."
Herrick offered the
following solution, "A better way would be to identify the specific
areas where the chance for real improvements in safety may be made.
These are primarily in operations that are already Part 135 and
include helicopter operations flying over water with no floats or
life preservers, multi-engine aircraft flying into IFR conditions,
etc."
Nevertheless, various aviation organizations responded to the
FAA's deadline extension. Earl Lawrence, EAA's Vice President,
Industry and Regulatory Affairs told ANN he was encouraged by the
extension. "It shows an acknowledgment, from the FAA, that more
input is needed on this issue," he explained. However, Lawrence
also expressed concern that some items in the NPRM package did not
seem to have any basis for inclusion. "It is the FAA's
responsibility to supply justification for the rule," he said. He
cited the increased flight time requirement for pilots flying
charitable flights as a prime example. "There was nothing presented
in the package to justify the need for this increase," he
added.
In a letter to the FAA, AOPA President Phil Boyer wrote, "For
years, hundreds of a small sightseeing operations have introduced
the public to the joy of flight under FAA's current regulations
without compromising safety. The viability of these businesses is
in jeopardy because the FAA wants to change the rules based on
accident data that has almost nothing to do with the way these
businesses operate.This proposed change strikes at the very heart
of general aviation."
In the same letter to the FAA, AOPA Senior Vice President of
Government and Technical Affairs Andy Cebula wrote, "The FAA should
provide these entities with the opportunity to explain first-hand
how the proposal affects their operations and determine the
accuracy of the FAA's analysis of the proposal.
ANN will provides updates on this NPRM as it moves through the
regulatory process.