[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6218-6219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2911]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Parts 61, 91, 119, 121, 135, and 136

[Docket No. FAA-1998-4521; Notice No. 04-02]
RIN 2120-AF07


National Air Tour Safety Standards

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting on the Internet.

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SUMMARY: On October 22, 2003, the FAA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes regulations to govern commercial air 
tours throughout the United States. We are announcing an Internet 
public meeting to supplement the traditional comment period. The public 
meeting will help us consider the concerns of those who may be most 
affected by the proposed rule as we develop a final rule that will 
promote safety in the commercial air tour industry.

DATES: You may access the public meeting at any time beginning February 
23, 2004, at 9 a.m. EST and ending on March 5, 2004, at 4:30 p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: You may access the on-line public meeting at http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm/rulemakingforum.cfm?nav=part. Under the `View 
Docket/Comments' column, click once on `Enter Public Meeting.' Follow 
the instructions to participate in the discussion.
    You may submit written comments to the docket, whether or not you 
participate in the public meeting. Address your comments to the Docket 
Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 
400 Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. You must identify the 
docket number FAA-1998-4521 at the beginning of your comments, and you 
should submit two copies of your comments. The public meeting on the 
Internet is intended to supplement the docket. A copy of the discussion 
from the public meeting will be submitted to the docket after the close 
of the public meeting.
    You may also submit comments through the Internet to http://dms/
dot.gov. You may review the public docket containing comments to these 
proposed regulations in person in the Dockets Office between 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Dockets 
Office is on the plaza level at the Department of Transportation 
building at the address above. Also, you may review public dockets on 
the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alberta Brown, Air Transportation 
Division, Flight Standards Service, AFS-200, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; 
telephone (202) 267-8166; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Background

    We published a notice of proposed rulemaking on October 22, 2003 
(68 FR 60572) that proposes to regulate commercial air tours throughout 
the United States. The notice provided a 90-day comment period that was 
to end on January 20, 2004. We received significant response to this 
NPRM, including numerous requests to extend the comment period and to 
conduct a series of public meetings. On January 16, 2004, we published 
a notice to extend the comment period an additional 90 days to April 
19, 2004 (69 FR 2529).

Public Meeting on the Internet

    We have carefully considered the requests for a series of public 
meetings. Traditionally, public meetings have been useful when we have 
been able to identify a geographic area that may be most affected by a 
proposed rule. We could then supplement the comment period with a 
public meeting that would allow those most affected to express their 
views directly to FAA representatives. As of the date of this notice, 
we have received approximately 1,500 comments in docket FAA-1998-4521. 
Most of the comments are from individuals or small aviation businesses. 
The persons who submitted these comments are widely dispersed 
throughout the country, many of them in small communities. It would be 
impractical to conduct a public meeting in every community in America 
where someone could be affected by the proposed rule. If we were to 
choose to hold public meetings only in areas where large tour operators 
are located, they would have a disproportionate opportunity to 
participate, to the disadvantage of the many small operators who have 
responded to this proposed rule.
    The Internet allows us to overcome the barriers of geography and 
enables anyone with an Internet connection to participate in a public 
discussion of the issues. A further advantage of a public meeting on 
the Internet is that it is not limited by time. A traditional public 
meeting would be scheduled at a particular place, on a particular day, 
at a specific time. Anyone with a schedule conflict may be unable to 
participate. A public meeting on the Internet can be available 24 hours 
per day over a period of several weeks. A public meeting held on the 
Internet, like a traditional public meeting, provides the opportunity 
to obtain useful information from the public. It has the additional 
advantage of allowing much broader participation throughout the 
country. We have therefore decided to hold a public meeting on the 
Internet.

How the Public Meeting Will Be Conducted

    To facilitate an organized and useful discussion of the issues, we 
will divide the discussion into three forums that will address specific 
areas of the proposed rule. The three forums will be:
    1. Community and charity events. This forum will discuss portions 
of the proposed rule that may affect persons who provide aerial 
sightseeing rides for charitable purposes or at community events.
    2. Part 91 sightseeing in accordance with the 25-mile exception. 
This forum will discuss portions of the proposed rule that may affect 
persons who are not currently required to obtain an operating 
certificate because they conduct nonstop sighseeing flights that begin 
and end at the same airport and are conducted within a 25-mile radius 
of that airport under the exception found in section 119.1(e)(2).
    3. Part 121 and part 135 commercial air tour operators. This forum 
will include discussion of portions of the proposed rule that may 
affect commercial air tour operators who conduct tours with an air 
carrier certificate under part 119 and operate under the rules of part 
121 or 135 of Chapter 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
    It is possible that some may wish to participate in more than one 
forum within the public meeting. You can participate in as many forums 
as you wish. To focus the discussion and encourage responses that will 
help us address both safety issues and concerns of those affected by 
the proposed rule, in each forum we will solicit responses to specific 
questions. You will be able

[[Page 6219]]

to read the questions on-line and submit your answers and comments 
electronically. We will participate in the discussion throughout the 2-
week forum and may ask you clarifying questions. While we have selected 
topics that we are particularly interested in, we still welcome all of 
your comments and suggestions. We will not make any commitments or draw 
any conclusions while the docket is open for public comment.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2004.
Anthony F. Fazio,
Director, Office of Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 04-2911 Filed 2-6-04; 11:13 am]
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