Issue Brief: National Park Overflights

Issue Brief

National Park Overflights

April 2000

Controversy over the potential for increased noise caused by air tours operating over national parks has led to a compromise proposal between aviation and tour industry representatives, environmental, and Native American groups. This compromise may become law in 1999.

This process was initiated following disputes over air tours at several national parks. In December 1996, the FAA unveiled proposed rules for further restrictions on air tours operating over Grand Canyon National Park. AOPA believed the proposed rule was too restrictive, could threaten air safety, and would set bad precedent for the FAA by ceding regulatory power over aviation to other agencies. It also would have unduly restricted general aviation flights even though general aviation is not a significant source of noise over national parks.

Proposed Rules Written by Negotiation

In an attempt to prevent further controversy over flight regulations over national parks, the Secretaries of Transportation and Interior appointed a National Park Overflights Working Group (NPOWG) composed of representatives of the aviation industry, tour industry, environmental groups, and Native Americans. The NPOWG was charged with recommending a compromise park overflights rule. The group included AOPA�s then Senior Vice President for Government & Technical Affairs, Tom Chapman, as general aviation�s representative.

The members of the NPOWG were a truly balanced group that brought all the interests to the table. They successfully forged a compromise that should form a solid foundation for FAA to develop a rule that will satisfy aviators, tour operators, and tourists who enjoy national parks from the air and the ground.

Most of General Aviation�s Concerns Satisfied

Before this proposal was negotiated, AOPA and the general aviation community expressed concerns that new regulations of air tours over national parks could place undue restrictions on aircraft flying over parks that were not conducting tours and bring new threats to air safety by requiring unusual or congested flight patterns. AOPA also opposed any rule or rulemaking process that pre-empted the FAA�s sole authority to regulate aviation and air safety.

In general, the NPOWG proposal satisfies these concerns. The proposal requires the FAA and National Park Service to work together to write each park�s Air Tour Management Plan, but it makes FAA the lead agency in the process and preserves FAA�s sole responsibility for "ensuring the safe and efficient use of the nation�s airspace and to protect the public health and welfare from aircraft noise." The proposal protects transient or occasional general aviation flights over national parks from further restrictions, and it carves out exceptions to allow some tours using general aviation aircraft operating under FAR Part 91.

General aviation pilots have long recognized their obligation to help minimize the noise impact of air transportation. Over the years AOPA has demonstrated its concern for our national parks by promoting pilot education and encouraging private pilots to comply with the FAA�s 2,000 foot altitude recommendation for airspace above our national parks, and the vast majority of general aviation pilots voluntarily comply with or exceed the 2,000 foot altitude recommendation.

Proposal Included in AIR-21 Legislation

A proposal based on the work of the NPOWG has been incorporated into both the House and Senate versions of the FAA Reauthorization bills. Under the legislative proposal:

• Almost all air tour providers operating over national parks would be required to operate under Part 135 of federal air regulations (FAR), which apply to commercial air taxi and commuter airlines.
• These tour operators would be required to get special permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate tours over national parks.
• The FAA and the National Park Service would work cooperatively and with public input to write an Air Tour Management Plan for each park where an air tour operator is operating or wants to operate. Some units of the National Park Service already have an effective air tour management plan.
• The proposal would not apply to transient general aviation flights, and would not apply to Alaska or Grand Canyon National Park. However, it does prohibit commercial air tour operations over the Rocky Mountain National Park.

AOPA Position

AOPA Legislative Action believes the proposal by the NPOWG was a balanced and reasonable approach to allowing air tour access to national parks while preserving the quiet and beauty of the parks for all visitors. A new law based on this proposal, combined with the broad support it enjoys from both the aviation and environmental community, should help mitigate further controversy regarding national park overflights. Legislation based on the NPOWG proposal is included in both the House and Senate versions of the FAA Reauthorization bills (S. 82 and H.R. 1000) which will be finalized later this year.