Air Tour and Sport Parachuting Safety Improvement Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2626 To reform Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements for commercial air tour operators, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 13, 2023 Ms. TOKUDA (for herself and Mr. CASE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To reform Federal Aviation Administration safety require- ments for commercial air tour operators, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Air Tour and Sport 4 Parachuting Safety Improvement Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 9 Aviation Administration. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2626 IH (2) AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘air carrier’’ has 1 the meaning given that term in section 40102 of 2 title 49, United States Code. 3 (3) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR.—The term ‘‘com- 4 mercial air tour’’ means a flight conducted for com- 5 pensation or hire in an airplane or helicopter where 6 a purpose of the flight is sightseeing. 7 (4) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATOR.—The 8 term ‘‘commercial air tour operator’’ means any per- 9 son who conducts a commercial air tour. 10 (5) PARACHUTE OPERATION.—The term ‘‘para- 11 chute operation’’ has the meaning given that term in 12 section 105.3 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula- 13 tions (or any successor regulation). 14 SEC. 3. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 15 FOR CERTAIN OPERATORS. 16 Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment 17 of this Act, the Administrator shall issue a final rule re- 18 quiring each person holding a certificate under part 119 19 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and authorized 20 to conduct operations in accordance with the provisions 21 of part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to 22 implement a safety management system, as appropriate 23 for the operations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2626 IH SEC. 4. OTHER SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL 1 OPERATORS. 2 (a) SAFETY REFORMS.— 3 (1) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT NONSTOP COM- 4 MERCIAL AIR TOURS.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 6 graph (B), beginning on the date that is 3 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 8 no person may conduct commercial air tours 9 unless that person— 10 (i) holds a certificate identifying the 11 person as an air carrier or commercial op- 12 erator under part 119 of title 14, Code of 13 Federal Regulations; and 14 (ii) conducts all commercial air tours 15 under the applicable provisions of part 121 16 or part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal 17 Regulations. 18 (B) TEMPORARY EXCEPTION.—Notwith- 19 standing the requirements of subparagraph (A), 20 for a period of 5 years after the date described 21 in subparagraph (A), a person who holds a let- 22 ter of authorization issued by the Administrator 23 to conduct nonstop commercial air tours under 24 section 91.147 of title 14, Code of Federal Reg- 25 ulations, may continue to conduct nonstop com- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2626 IH mercial air tours under such letter of authoriza- 1 tion so long as the person— 2 (i) as of the date of enactment of this 3 section, has submitted (or not later than 4 18 months after such date of enactment, 5 submits) an application to the Adminis- 6 trator for an air carrier certificate under 7 part 119, Code of Federal Regulations; 8 and 9 (ii) has not been issued such part 119 10 certificate or received a denial of the appli- 11 cation submitted under clause (i). 12 (C) REPORTING REQUIRED.—Beginning on 13 the date that is 3 years after the date of enact- 14 ment, and every 12 months thereafter, each 15 person that conducts commercial air tours (in- 16 cluding any person excluded from the certificate 17 requirement under subparagraph (B)) shall re- 18 port to the Administrator the total number of 19 commercial air tours that person conducted 20 during the previous 12 months. 21 (D) OTHER TERMS.—The Administrator 22 shall— 23 (i) revise title 14, Code of Federal 24 Regulations, to include definitions for the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2626 IH terms ‘‘aerial work’’ and ‘‘aerial photog- 1 raphy’’ that are limited to aerial operations 2 performed for compensation or hire with 3 an approved operating certificate; and 4 (ii) to the extent necessary, revise sec- 5 tion 119.1(e)(4)(iii) of title 14, Code of 6 Federal Regulations, to conform with the 7 requirements of such definitions. 8 (2) ADDITIONAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Not 9 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 10 this Act, the Administrator shall issue new or re- 11 vised regulations that shall require all certificated 12 commercial air tour operators to incorporate avoid- 13 ance training for controlled flight into terrain and 14 in-flight loss of control into the training program re- 15 quired under part 121 or 135 of title 14, Code of 16 Federal Regulations, as applicable. The training 17 shall address reducing the risk of accidents involving 18 unintentional flight into instrument meteorological 19 conditions to address day, night, and low visibility 20 environments with special attention paid to research 21 available as of the date of enactment of this Act on 22 human factors issues involved in such accidents, in- 23 cluding but not limited to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2626 IH (A) specific terrain, weather, and infra- 1 structure challenges relevant in the local oper- 2 ating environment that increase the risk of such 3 accidents; 4 (B) pilot decision-making relevant to the 5 avoidance of instrument meteorological condi- 6 tions while operating under visual flight rules; 7 (C) use of terrain awareness displays; 8 (D) spatial disorientation risk factors and 9 countermeasures; and 10 (E) strategies for maintaining control, in- 11 cluding the use of automated systems. 12 (b) AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, shall 14 convene an aviation rulemaking committee to review 15 and develop findings and recommendations to in- 16 form— 17 (A) establishing a performance-based 18 standard for flight data monitoring for all com- 19 mercial air tour operators that reviews all avail- 20 able data sources to identify deviations from es- 21 tablished areas of operation and potential safety 22 issues; 23 (B) requiring all commercial air tour oper- 24 ators to install flight data recording devices ca- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2626 IH pable of supporting collection and dissemination 1 of the data incorporated in the Flight Oper- 2 ational Quality Assurance Program (or, if an 3 aircraft cannot be retrofitted with such equip- 4 ment, requiring the commercial air tour oper- 5 ator for such aircraft to collect and maintain 6 flight data through alternative methods); 7 (C) requiring all commercial air tour oper- 8 ators to implement a flight data monitoring 9 program, such as a Flight Operational Quality 10 Assurance Program; 11 (D) establishing methods to provide effec- 12 tive terrain awareness and warning; and 13 (E) establishing methods to provide effec- 14 tive traffic avoidance in identified high-traffic 15 tour areas, such as requiring air tour operators 16 that operate within those areas be equipped 17 with an Automatic Dependent Surveillance- 18 Broadcast Out- and In-supported traffic advi- 19 sory system that— 20 (i) includes both visual and aural 21 alerts; 22 (ii) is driven by an algorithm designed 23 to eliminate nuisance alerts; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2626 IH (iii) is operational during all flight op- 1 erations. 2 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The aviation rulemaking 3 committee shall consist of members appointed by the 4 Administrator, including— 5 (A) representatives of industry, including 6 manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft tech- 7 nologies; 8 (B) representatives of aviation operator or- 9 ganizations; and 10 (C) aviation safety experts with specific 11 knowledge of safety management systems and 12 flight data monitoring programs under part 135 13 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 14 (3) DUTIES.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 16 shall direct the aviation rulemaking committee 17 to make findings and submit recommendations 18 regarding each of the matters specified in sub- 19 paragraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1). 20 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out its 21 duties under subparagraph (A), the Adminis- 22 trator shall direct the aviation rulemaking com- 23 mittee to consider— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2626 IH (i) recommendations of the National 1 Transportation Safety Board; 2 (ii) recommendations of previous avia- 3 tion rulemaking committees that reviewed 4 flight data monitoring program require- 5 ments on part 135 commercial operators; 6 (iii) recommendations from industry 7 safety organizations, including but not lim- 8 ited to the Vertical Aviation Safety Team 9 (VAST), the General Aviation Joint Safety 10 Committee, and the United States Heli- 11 copter Safety Team (USHST); 12 (iv) scientific data derived from a 13 broad range of flight data recording tech- 14 nologies capable of continuously transmit- 15 ting and that support a measurable and 16 viable means of assessing data to identify 17 and correct hazardous trends; 18 (v) appropriate use of data for modi- 19 fying behavior to prevent accidents; 20 (vi) the need to accommodate techno- 21 logical advancements in flight data record- 22 ing technology; 23 (vii) data gathered from aviation safe- 24 ty reporting programs; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2626 IH (viii) appropriate methods to provide 1 effective terrain awareness and warning 2 system (TAWS) protections while miti- 3 gating nuisance alerts for aircraft; 4 (ix) the need to accommodate the di- 5 versity of airworthiness standards under 6 part 27 and part 29 of title 14, Code of 7 Federal Regulations; 8 (x) the need to accommodate diversity 9 of operations and mission sets; 10 (xi) benefits of third-party data anal- 11 ysis for large and small operations; 12 (xii) accommodations necessary for 13 small businesses; and 14 (xiii) other issues as necessary. 15 (4) REPORTS AND REGULATIONS.—The Admin- 16 istrator shall— 17 (A) not later than 20 months after the 18 date of enactment of this Act, submit to the 19 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- 20 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 21 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 22 of Representatives a report based on the find- 23 ings of the aviation rulemaking committee; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 2626 IH (B) not later than 12 months after the 1 date of submission of the report under subpara- 2 graph (A), and after consideration of the rec- 3 ommendations of the aviation rulemaking com- 4 mittee, issue an intent to proceed with proposed 5 rulemakings regarding each of the matters 6 specified in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of 7 paragraph (1); and 8 (C) not later than 3 years after the date 9 of enactment of this Act, issue a final rule with 10 respect to each of the matters specified in such 11 subparagraphs of paragraph (1). 12 SEC. 5. EXPEDITED PROCESS FOR OBTAINING OPERATING 13 CERTIFICATES. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall imple- 15 ment procedures to improve the process for obtaining op- 16 erating certificates under part 119 of title 14, Code of 17 Federal Regulations. 18 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out subsection 19 (a), beginning on the date that is 18 months after the 20 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall give 21 priority consideration to operators that must obtain a cer- 22 tificate in accordance with section 4(a)(1) of this Act. 23 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 2626 IH submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 1 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 2 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep- 3 resentatives a report describing— 4 (1) how the procedures implemented under sub- 5 section (a) will increase the efficiency of the process 6 for obtaining operating certificates under part 119 7 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and, if ap- 8 plicable, certificates authorizing operations under 9 part 135 of such title; 10 (2) how considerations under subsection (b) will 11 be incorporated into procedures implemented under 12 subsection (a); and 13 (3) any additional resources required to imple- 14 ment procedures under subsection (a). 15 (d) ADDITIONAL REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later 16 than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 17 annually thereafter the Administrator shall submit a re- 18 port to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- 19 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor- 20 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 21 that— 22 (1) includes— 23 (A) data on certification approvals and de- 24 nials; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2626.IH H2626 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 2626 IH (B) data on duration of key phases of the 1 certification process; and 2 (2) identifies certification policies in need of re- [Text truncated for display. 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