[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 13, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78072-78074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31933]



[[Page 78071]]

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Part V





Department of Transportation





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Federal Aviation Administration



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Commercial Routes for the Grand Canyon National Park Special Flight 
Rules Area; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 240 / Wednesday, December 13, 2000 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Commercial Routes for the Grand Canyon National Park Special 
Flight Rules Area

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of and requests 
comments on commercial routes for the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) 
Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA). The commercial routes are not being 
published in today's Federal Register because they are on very large 
and very detailed charts that would not publish well in the Federal 
Register. The modifications are related to safety concerns identified 
by air tour operators and evaluated by the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA). With this notice, the FAA invites comments on the 
modifications of these routes. This notice solely proposes 
administrative changes in air tour routes to improve safety; it has no 
effect on the Airspace Modification rule published in April 2000 nor 
any effect on the Commercial Operations Limitation rule also approved 
in April 2000.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 12, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed commercial air tour routes may be 
delivered or mailed, in duplicate to: Federal Aviation Administration, 
Attention: Gary Davis, Air Transportation Division, Flight Standards 
Service, AFS-201, Rm 831, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20591. Comments may be examined at the above address between 9 a.m. and 
4 p.m. weekdays, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard Nesbitt, Special Assistant for 
National Parks, Flight Standards Service, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20591, Telephone (202) 493-4981.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA is not publishing the commercial 
routes in today's Federal Register because they are on very large and 
very detailed charts that would not publish well in the Federal 
Register. You may obtain a copy of the commercial routes by contacting 
Denise Cashmere at (202) 267-3717, by faxing a request to (202) 267-
5229, or by sending a request in writing to the Federal Aviation 
Administration, Air Transportation Division, AFS-200, 800 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591. You may comment on the routes as you 
desire, but you must identify that you are commenting on the commercial 
routes for Grand Canyon National Park. The FAA will consider all 
comments received on or before the closing date for comments before 
finalizing the air tour routes. The FAA will consider late-filed 
comments to the extent practicable.

History

    On April 4, 2000, the Federal Aviation Administration published two 
final rules the Modification of the Dimensions of the Grand Canyon 
National Park Special Flight Rules Area and Flight Free Zones (Air 
Space Modification), and the Commercial Air Tour Limitation in the 
Grand Canyon National Park Special Flight Rules Area (Commercial Air 
Tour Limitation). See 65 FR 17736; 65 FR 17708; April 4, 2000. The FAA 
also simultaneously published a notice of availability of Commercial 
Routes for the Grand Canyon National Park (Routes Notice). See 65 FR 
17698, April 4, 2000. The Commercial Air Tour Limitations final rule 
became effective on May 4, 2000. the Air Space Modification final rule 
and the routes set forth in the Routes Notice were scheduled to become 
effective December 1, 2000. The effective date of the Air Space 
Modification final rule and the new routes was extended to provide the 
air tour operators ample opportunity to train on the new route system 
during the non-tour season. The Final Supplemental Environmental 
Assessment for Special Flight Rules in the Vicinity of Grand Canyon 
National Park (SEA) was completed on February 22, 2000, and the Finding 
of No Significant Impact was issued on February 25, 2000.
    On May 8, 2000, The United States Air Tour Association (USATA) and 
seven air tour operators (hereinafter collectively referred to as the 
Air tour Providers) filed a petition for review of the two final rules 
before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 
Circuit. The FAA, The Department of Transportation, the Department of 
Interior, the National Park Service (NPS) and various federal officials 
were named as respondents in this action. On May 30, 2000, the Air Tour 
Providers filed a motion for stay pending review before the Court of 
Appeals. The federal respondents in this case filed a motion for 
summary denial on grounds that petitioners had not exhausted their 
administrative remedies. The Court granted the federal respondents 
summary denial on July 19, 2000. The Grand Canyon Trust, the National 
Parks and Conservation Association, the Sierra Club, the Wilderness 
Society, Friends of the Grand Canyon and Grand Canyon River Guides, 
Inc. (hereinafter will collectively referred to The Trust) filed a 
petition for review of the same rules on May 22, 2000. The Court, by 
motion of the federal respondents, consolidated that case with that of 
the Air Tour Providers. The Hualapai Indian Tribe of Arizona filed a 
motion to intervene in the Air Tour Providers petition for review on 
June 23, 2000. The Court granted that motion on July 19, 2000.
    On July 31, 2000, the Air Tour Providers filed a motion for stay 
before the FAA. Both the Hualapai Indian Tribe and the Trust filed 
oppositions to the Air Tour Providers' stay motion. On October 11, 
2000, (65 FR 60352) the FAA published a disposition of the stay 
request, denying the stay. On October 25, 2000, the Air Tour Providers 
filed a Motion for Stay and Emergency Relief Pending Review of an 
Agency Order with the Court of Appeals. The federal respondents filed 
their Opposition of Petitioner's Motion for Stay Pending Review and 
Notification of Administrative Stay of Route and Airspace Rules on 
November 2, 2000. The FAA then issued an administrative stay of the 
routes and airspace until December 28, 2000 so that it could further 
investigate some new safety allegations raised by the Air Tour 
Providers during the course of litigation (65 FR 69846 and 65 FR 69848; 
November 20, 2000).

Discussion

    The Air Tour Providers petitioned the United States Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for a review of the FAA's 
Commercial Air Tour Limitations final rule and the Airspace 
Modification final rule. During the ensuing litigation, the Air Tour 
Providers brought forth several new safety issues regarding the east 
end routes in the Dragon Corridor, the area north of the Zuni Point 
Corridor and around the Desert View Flight Free Zone that were not 
clearly articulated in prior comments to the agency during the 
rulemaking process. The FAA has investigated the safety issues and has, 
in consultation with the NPS, developed suggested map changes to the 
routes to improve safety in the Dragon Corridor and the area north of 
the Zuni Point Corridor, and around the Desert View Flight Free Zone. 
These changes are reflected in the map that is the subject of this 
Notice. The routes in the Marble Canyon area, Sanup region (the west 
end of GCNP), and the routes running

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east to west across the SFRA are not reopened under this Routes Notice. 
However, for purposes of completeness, these routes are shown on the 
map together with the routes that are open for comment (Dragon, Zuni 
Point, Kaibab Plateau and around Desert View Flight Free Zone).
    The Dragon Corridor (Green Route 2/2R) would be modified by 
extending the turnaround approximately up to the future incentive 
corridor for noise efficient aircraft (also sometimes referred to as 
the Bright Angel Corridor). This creates a turnaround in the same place 
as shown on the SFAR 50-2 map. This change is necessary for safety 
purposes because it was brought to the FAA's attention that the 
turnaround on the Green 2/2R, shown on the map published on April 4, 
2000, occurs in an area where pilots on the Green 2/2R would be blind 
to the traffic descending from the southern portion of the southbound 
Green 1. The FAA originally believed that this turnaround was safe 
because entering traffic would be able to see the length of the 
corridor prior to the turnaround and would be able to proceed via radio 
reporting. However, after further investigation, the FAA has concluded 
that a turnaround just before the Dragon Head would create an 
unacceptable safety risk, especially in certain visibility conditions 
or when heavy radio traffic could block some radio transmissions. Thus 
for safety reasons, it was determined that the turnaround should be 
returned to its present location as depicted on the current SFAR 50-2 
route map.
    The proposed Green 2/2R route is shown at 7,500 feet MSL, which is 
consistent with the route under SFAR 5-2. The FAA Las Vegas Flight 
Standards District Office (FSDO) will maintain a procedure in the ``Las 
Vegas Grand Canyon National Park Special Flight Rules Area Procedures 
Manual'' requiring helicopters to climb to maintain adequate terrain 
clearance as the Green 2 passes over the Dragon's Head and to level off 
at 8,300 feet MSL in preparation for the 180 degree turn back down the 
Corridor. Helicopters flying South on the Green 1 coming off of the 
Kaibab Plateau would begin descending prior to the turnaround to ensure 
a smooth merging of the traffic.
    The other alternative considered for addressing the safety concerns 
at the Dragon's Head was to locate the standard route turnaround 
approximately a mile and a half below its current location to where the 
weather turnaround currently is located on the Green 2/2R, as shown on 
the April 4, 2000 map. However, this alternative was not significantly 
different than the current route structure and still placed the 
turnaround south of the Dragon's Head. Thus, the FAA determined that 
this alternative would not provide adequate line of sight visibility 
for oncoming traffic just prior to the turnaround and therefore would 
fail to address the safety issues. The FAA invites comments on this 
decision.
    The Green 1 and Black 1 routes north of the Zuni Point Corridor 
would be modified to address concerns that the climb between Gunther's 
Castle and Pete's Corner does not ensure adequate vertical separation 
between fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The FAA has separated 
these two routes horizontally and there would now be a slight 
divergence between these two routes and then they would join up as they 
cross the plateau. This would allow helicopters to climb to the 
designated altitude without concern that the helicopters might pass 
through the airspace occupied by the fixed wing before the fixed wing 
have cleared the altitude. The FAA does not anticipate that this will 
be a significant change in the route structure.
    Additionally, the Zuni Point Corridor routes would be modified by 
depicting a weather route turnaround on the Green 1 and Black 1 for 
fixed wing and helicopter operators after the operators cross the 
Saddle Mountain Ridge. Based on FAA's investigation, placement of the 
weather route at this point would to give the operators a better 
opportunity to assess the weather conditions over the Kaibab Plateau 
and make a decision whether to proceed or turn around. The route could 
be used during any weather condition that affected safety of flight 
(turbulence, winds, thunderstorms, precipitation, etc). The operator 
would file a deviation with the FSDO when using the weather route. The 
deviation is for record keeping purposes only and would not be used to 
penalize the operator in any way for making a safety of flight 
decision.
    The route structure around the Desert View Flight Free Zone would 
be modified by depicting weather routes that provide larger, clearer 
landmark navigation aids to use in visibility minimums. This address 
the concern that there are not adequate navigation landmarks on the 
Black 2 and Green 3 over the Painted Desert. The FAA investigated this 
allegation and determined that the navigation landmarks were adequate 
during good visibility. However, during marginal visibility, the route 
landmarks could possibly be missed, although the FAA was not able to 
evaluate these routes in limited visibility conditions. To ensure that 
operators are able to navigate this area safely in visibility minimums, 
the FAA has added weather routes for both fixed wing and helicopters. 
These routes would be closer to the Little Colorado River and its 
canyons and thus should be easy to navigate in marginal conditions.
    The placement of weather routes on the map simply depicts an 
established procedure for the operators should weather conditions 
require. Operators are always permitted to take whatever route is 
necessary for safety of flight in the event of adverse weather 
conditions. The FAA has projected that weather routes will be used less 
than 5 percent of the time. Thus, the depiction of the weather routes 
is not a significant change from the route structure adopted April 4, 
2000.
    Finally, north of the Desert View Flight Free Zone the FAA would 
add an entrance (2E-4) at 8,500 feet MSL for fixed wing aircraft, which 
responds to a request from the Navajo Nation. Pursuant to this request, 
the FAA reevaluated its decision in the April 4, 2000 notice to deny an 
entrance at this location. The FAA was initially concerned that this 
entrance would cause altitude congestion. However, based on further 
evaluation of traffic density the FAA believes that it can achieve 
proper vertical separation by modifying the altitude structure. Thus, 
the altitude on the 2X-4 as shown on the April 4, 2000 map is raised to 
9,000 feet MSL to allow for adequate vertical separation and the 
altitude for helicopters on the Green 3X remains at 7,500 feet MSL. 
While this entrance is not necessary for safety of flight and thus is 
different than the other changes noted above, the FAA has decided to 
include this change at this time, provided that doing so does not 
hinder the adoption of any changes necessary for safety of flight. If 
this matter becomes controversial, the FAA may decide to remove this 
change from this map and handle it as a separate matter at a later 
date.
    The FAA has determined that the revisions to the route map outlined 
in this Notice are not significant changes to the current route 
structure at GCNP. The location of the turnaround in the Dragon 
Corridor is depicted in the identical location as under SFAR 50-2. In 
addition, the slight route deviation north of Zuni Point Corridor 
between Gunther's Castle and Pete's Corner are minor changes that will 
make important improvements to the safety of flight. The weather routes 
north of the Zuni Point Corridor and around Desert View Flight Free 
Zone simply depict established deviations from the standard route

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structure that operators currently could take if necessary for safety 
of flight. Finally, the addition of an entrance for fixed wing aircraft 
North of the Desert View Flight Free Zone will be located in the same 
area as the exit routes shown on the April 4, 2000 map.
    The FAA is completing a written reevaluation to determine whether 
the contents of the previous Supplemental Environmental Assessment 
remain valid and what, if any, impact these slight route changes will 
have on substantial restoration of natural quiet at GCNP. While the FAA 
is not required to publish the written reevaluation, the FAA intends to 
make it publicly available in January 2001. The revisions to the route 
map outlined in this Notice will address the safety concerns and allow 
the FAA to implement these routes by spring 2001 so they will be in 
place by the summer 2001 season.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 11, 2000.
L. Nicholas Lacey,
Director of Flight Standards Service.
[FR Doc. 00-31933 Filed 12-11-00; 4:04 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M