I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1071 

To impose safety requirements on commercial air tour flights, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2023 

Mr. CASE (for himself, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mr. GOLDMAN of New York) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To impose safety requirements on commercial air tour 

flights, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe and Quiet Skies 

5 Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR 

2 FLIGHTS. 

3 (a) PROHIBITION OF OVERFLIGHTS.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, a commercial air tour 

5 may not operate within a half mile of the following: 

6 (1) A military installation. 

7 (2) A national cemetery. 

8 (3) A unit of the National Wilderness Preserva9 tion System. 

10 (4) A unit of the National Park System. 

11 (5) A unit of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys12 tem. 

13 (b) USE OF AUTOMATIC DEPENDENT SURVEIL14 LANCE-BROADCAST (ADS–B) OUT EQUIPMENT.—The 

15 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

16 shall revise section 91.227 of title 14, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations, to require the use of ADS–B Out (as such 

18 term is defined in such section) during the entire oper19 ation of a commercial air tour. 

20 (c) STERILE COCKPIT RULE.—The Administrator 

21 shall issue such regulations as are necessary to— 

22 (1) impose the requirements of section 121.542 

23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, on a com24 mercial air tour and a pilot of a commercial air tour 

25 (including a commercial air tour that does not hold 


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1 a certificate under part 121 of title 14, Code of Fed2 eral Regulations); 

3 (2) define tour-giving and providing an oral 

4 narration of the air tour as duties that are not re5 quired for the safe operation of the aircraft for a 

6 commercial air tour (including a commercial air tour 

7 that does not hold a certificate under part 121 of 

8 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations); and 

9 (3) define a critical phase of flight for a com10 mercial air tour (including a commercial air tour 

11 that does not hold a certificate under part 121 of 

12 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations) to include all 

13 ground operations involving taxi, takeoff, and land14 ing, and all other flight operations regardless of alti15 tude of operation. 

16 (d) MINIMUM ALTITUDES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of law, a commercial air tour may not op19 erate at an altitude of less than 1,500 feet. 

20 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

21 (A) SAFE HARBOR.—An operator of a 

22 commercial air tour may fly below the altitude 

23 described in paragraph (1) for reasons of safety 

24 if unpredictable circumstances occur. 


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1 (B) FAA REQUIREMENTS.—The Adminis2 trator may permit an operator of a commercial 

3 air tour to operate below the altitude described 

4 in paragraph (1) for flight operations for take5 off and landing. 

6 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If a reasonable 

7 individual would believe a commercial air tour could 

8 not safely fly at a minimum altitude of 1,500 feet 

9 for the duration of the flight given the conditions at 

10 takeoff, the safe harbor described in paragraph 

11 (2)(A) shall not apply. 

12 (e) OCCUPIED AREAS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

14 provision of law, a commercial air tour may not op15 erate within half a mile of an occupied area unless 

16 the aircraft has noise suppression technology that 

17 brings noise to the lesser of— 

18 (A) a maximum level of 55 dbA as meas19 ured from such occupied area; and 

20 (B) a maximum level required in such oc21 cupied area by a requirement imposed pursuant 

22 to section 3(a) of this Act or section 40128(e) 

23 of title 49, United States Code. 

24 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall 

25 revise subparts F and H of part 36 of title 14, Code 


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1 of Federal Regulations, and related appendices, to 

2 reduce noise limits in accordance with paragraph 

3 (1). 

4 SEC. 3. DELEGATED AUTHORITY TO STATE AND LOCAL 

5 REGULATORS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law, a State or locality may impose additional re8 quirements on commercial air tours (but may not waive 

9 any requirements described in this Act or in the amend10 ments made by this Act), including— 

11 (1) banning such tours; 

12 (2) imposing day and time flight restrictions; 

13 (3) regulating the total number of flights per 

14 day; 

15 (4) regulating route requirements over occupied 

16 areas; 

17 (5) prohibiting flights over State or local parks, 

18 ocean recreation, cemeteries, and other areas of 

19 State interest; and 

20 (6) requiring commercial air tours to operate at 

21 lower decibels for purposes of noise requirements. 

22 (b) FAA EXCEPTIONS.—The Administrator may in23 validate a requirement imposed pursuant to subsection (a) 

24 if required for flight operations for takeoff and landing. 


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1 SEC. 4. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT FEDERAL 

2 AND STATE REGULATORY PROCESS. 

3 During the promulgation of any regulation required 

4 by this Act or the drafting and update of the Air Tours 

5 Common Procedural Manuals, the requirements of the Ad6 ministrative Procedure Act shall apply. 

7 SEC. 5. PENALTIES. 

8 The Administrator shall impose penalties for viola9 tions of this Act or the amendments made by this Act, 

10 including revoking any certifications or permits issued to 

11 operate a commercial air tour. 

12 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 40128 of title 49, United 

14 States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘na16 tional parks’’ and inserting ‘‘tribal lands’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘a national park or’’ in each 

18 place in which it appears; 

19 (3) by striking ‘‘park or’’ in each place in which 

20 it appears; 

21 (4) in subsection (a)(1)(C), by striking ‘‘or vol22 untary agreement under subsection (b)(7)’’; 

23 (5) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting 

24 the following: 

25 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHOR26 ITY.—Before commencing commercial air tour operVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1071.IH H1071

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1 ations over tribal lands, a commercial air tour oper2 ator shall apply to the Administrator for authority 

3 to conduct the operations over the tribal lands.’’; 

4 (6) by striking subsection (a)(3); 

5 (7) by redesignating paragraph (4) of sub6 section (a) as paragraph (3); 

7 (8) by striking subsection (a)(5); 

8 (9) in subsection (b)(1)(A)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘over the park’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘over the lands’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (4)’’ and in12 serting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; 

13 (10) by striking subsection (b)(1)(C); 

14 (11) by striking subsection (b)(3); 

15 (12) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

16 (6) of subsection (b) as paragraphs (3) through (5), 

17 respectively; 

18 (13) by striking subsection (b)(7); 

19 (14) by striking subsection (c)(2)(B); 

20 (15) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

21 through (I) of subsection (c)(2) as subparagraphs 

22 (B) through (H), respectively; 

23 (16) in subsection (c)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘at 

24 the’’ in each place in which it appears; 

25 (17) in subsection (d)(1)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘over a national park 

2 under interim operating authority granted 

3 under subsection (c) or’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘or voluntary agreement’’; 

5 (18) by striking subsection (e); 

6 (19) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(e) TRIBAL AUTHORITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of law, a tribal entity may impose addi11 tional requirements on commercial air tours (but 

12 may not waive any requirements described in the 

13 Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 2023 or in the amend14 ments made by the Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 

15 2023), including— 

16 ‘‘(A) banning such tours; 

17 ‘‘(B) imposing day and time flight restric18 tions; 

19 ‘‘(C) regulating the total number of flights 

20 per day; 

21 ‘‘(D) regulating route requirements over 

22 occupied areas; 

23 ‘‘(E) prohibiting flights over tribal parks, 

24 ocean recreation, cemeteries, and other areas of 

25 tribal interest; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) requiring commercial air tours to op2 erate at lower decibels for purposes of noise re3 quirements. 

4 ‘‘(2) FAA EXCEPTIONS.—The Administrator of 

5 the Federal Aviation Administration may invalidate 

6 a regulation imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) if 

7 required for flight operations for takeoff and land8 ing. 

9 ‘‘(3) TRIBAL ENTITY.—In this subsection, the 

10 term ‘tribal entity’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a tribal organization (as such term is 

12 defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter13 mination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 

14 (25 U.S.C. 5304)); 

15 ‘‘(B) a tribally designated housing entity 

16 (as such term is defined in section 4 of the Na17 tive American Housing Assistance and Self-De18 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)); or 

19 ‘‘(C) an Indian-owned business or a tribal 

20 enterprise (as such terms are defined in section 

21 3 of the Native American Business Develop22 ment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 

23 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302)).’’; 

24 (20) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘over a 

25 national park’’ and inserting ‘‘over tribal lands’’; 


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1 (21) in subsection (g)(2), by striking ‘‘over a 

2 national park’’ and inserting ‘‘over tribal lands’’; 

3 (22) by striking subsection (g)(4); 

4 (23) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

5 (8) of subsection (g) as paragraphs (4) through (7), 

6 respectively; and 

7 (24) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub8 section (f). 

9 (b) ANALYSIS.—The table of section for chapter 401 

10 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

11 the item relating to section 40128 and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

‘‘40128. Overflights of tribal lands.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall imple15 ment all recommendations concerning operators under 

16 part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, that— 

17 (1) were issued by the National Transportation 

18 Safety Board; and 

19 (2) are considered by the Board to be open un20 acceptable response. 

21 (b) PART 135 REGULATION.—The Administrator— 

22 (1) shall require all commercial air tours to op23 erate pursuant to part 135 of title 14, Code of Fed24 eral Regulations; and 


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1 (2) may not permit a commercial air tour to op2 erate pursuant to part 91 of title 14, Code of Fed3 eral Regulations. 

4 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

8 Aviation Administration. 

9 (2) ALTITUDE.—The term ‘‘altitude’’ means 

10 the distance above ground level between an aircraft 

11 and the highest obstacle that is within 2 miles of the 

12 location over which such aircraft is flying at any 

13 time. 

14 (3) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR.—The term ‘‘com15 mercial air tour’’ means any flight conducted for 

16 compensation or hire in a powered aircraft where a 

17 purpose of the flight is sightseeing or intentional 

18 parachuting. If the operator of a flight asserts that 

19 the flight is not a commercial air tour, factors that 

20 can be considered by the Administrator in making a 

21 determination of whether the flight is a commercial 

22 air tour include— 

23 (A) whether there was a holding out to the 

24 public of willingness to conduct a sightseeing or 


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1 intentional parachuting flight for compensation 

2 or hire; 

3 (B) whether a narrative was provided that 

4 referred to areas or points of interest on the 

5 surface; 

6 (C) the area of operation; 

7 (D) the frequency of flights; 

8 (E) the route of flight; 

9 (F) the inclusion of sightseeing or inten10 tional parachuting flights as part of any travel 

11 arrangement package; or 

12 (G) whether the flight in question would or 

13 would not have been canceled based on poor vis14 ibility of the surface. 

15 (4) dbA.—The term ‘‘dbA’’ means the A16 weighted sound level or unit of measurement de17 scribing the total sound level of all noises as meas18 ured with a sound level meter using the A weighting 

19 network. 

20 (5) OCCUPIED AREA.—The term ‘‘occupied 

21 area’’ means land area that is used by people, in22 cluding residential areas, commercial areas, and rec23 reational areas. 

Æ 


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