[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E56]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              INTRODUCTION OF THE SAFE AND QUIET SKIES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. ED CASE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 21, 2021

  Mr. CASE. Madam Speaker, today I am re-introducing my Safe and Quiet 
Skies Act from the 116th Congress to ensure that commercial air tour 
flights are adequately regulated to ensure in-air and on-ground safety 
and address widespread and accelerating community disruption. I extend 
a special thanks to my colleagues, Congressmembers Nadler, Neguse, 
Norton, Sherman, and Sires, for co-introducing this necessary measure.
  In 2019 alone, there were 17 sightseeing tour flight and skydiving 
accidents nationwide with 37 tragic deaths from six of those crashes. 
In my Hawaii alone, we saw three dead in the crash of a commercial air 
tour helicopter into a residential neighborhood, eleven more dead in 
the crash of a commercial skydiving plane, and then seven more dead in 
a commercial air tour helicopter crash in a remote mountain region. 
Many other areas of the country have been equally impacted, especially 
those with high commercial usage, more dense populations, valuable 
natural resources, significant defense installations and other factors.
  These tragedies occurred amidst a rapid increase in commercial 
helicopter and small plane overflights including residential, 
commercial, and industrial neighborhoods, cemeteries and memorials, 
land and marine parks and other recreation areas, and sensitive 
military installations. These have disrupted whole communities with 
excessive noise and other impacts, destroyed the peace and sanctity of 
special places, increased risk to not only passengers but those on the 
ground, and weakened security and management of defense operations.
  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently has virtually 
exclusive jurisdiction over these aircraft operations. Following these 
and other recent tragedies across the country, the National 
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is responsible for 
investigating accidents but not for direct safety regulation, strongly 
recommended to the FAA that safety-related regulation of commercial 
tour helicopters and small aircraft skydiving operations is generally 
insufficient.
  Regarding ground disruption and risk, the FAA takes the position that 
its responsibility is strictly operational safety and national airspace 
efficiency and does not extend to ground disruption and other negative 
impacts. As a result, the operators, aside from strict takeoff and 
approach, avoidance of established flight paths and other limited 
circumstances, are virtually free to fly wherever, whenever, and as 
often as they want. And they do, with little to no self-regulation.
  This situation is unacceptable for both safety and community impact 
concerns. It is also not limited to Hawaii, with growing concerns in 
other areas with high commercial tour usage, more dense populations, 
valuable natural resources, significant defense installations and other 
factors.
  This bill would first require the FAA to implement the NTSB's 
recommended enhanced safety regulations. It would also prohibit flights 
over federal property that requires privacy, dignity, and respect, to 
include military installations, national cemeteries and national parks, 
wildlife refuges and wilderness. It would further require the use of 
standard equipment to monitor the location of flights, apply the 
``sterile cockpit rule'' to tour flights (meaning in part that the 
pilot could not also be the tour guide), prohibit flights lower than 
1,500 feet over actual ground, and limit decibel levels to those 
commonly applied to operations in residential areas. Additionally, the 
bill would allow states, localities, and tribes to impose stricter 
regulations on tour flights in their jurisdictions with required public 
engagement.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this bill into 
law.

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