II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1032 

To reform Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements for 

commercial air tour operators, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 29, 2023 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To reform Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements for commercial air tour operators, 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 ‘‘Air Tour and Sport 

5 Parachuting Safety Improvement Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

3 Aviation Administration. 

4 (2) AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘air carrier’’ has 

5 the meaning given that term in section 40102 of 

6 title 49, United States Code. 

7 (3) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR.—The term ‘‘com8 mercial air tour’’ means a flight conducted for com9 pensation or hire in an airplane or helicopter where 

10 a purpose of the flight is sightseeing. 

11 (4) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATOR.—The 

12 term ‘‘commercial air tour operator’’ means any per13 son who conducts a commercial air tour. 

14 (5) PARACHUTE OPERATION.—The term ‘‘para15 chute operation’’ has the meaning given that term in 

16 section 105.3 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula17 tions (or any successor regulation). 

18 SEC. 3. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 

19 FOR CERTAIN OPERATORS. 

20 Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Administrator shall issue a final rule re22 quiring each person holding a certificate under part 119 

23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and authorized 

24 to conduct operations in accordance with the provisions 

25 of part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to 


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1 implement a safety management system, as appropriate 

2 for the operations. 

3 SEC. 4. OTHER SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL 

4 OPERATORS. 

5 (a) SAFETY REFORMS.— 

6 (1) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT NONSTOP COM7 MERCIAL AIR TOURS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), beginning on the date that is 3 

10 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

11 no person may conduct commercial air tours 

12 unless that person— 

13 (i) holds a certificate identifying the 

14 person as an air carrier or commercial op15 erator under part 119 of title 14, Code of 

16 Federal Regulations; and 

17 (ii) conducts all commercial air tours 

18 under the applicable provisions of part 121 

19 or part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations. 

21 (B) TEMPORARY EXCEPTION.—Notwith22 standing the requirements of subparagraph (A), 

23 for a period of 5 years after the date described 

24 in subparagraph (A), a person who holds a let25 ter of authorization issued by the Administrator 


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1 to conduct nonstop commercial air tours under 

2 section 91.147 of title 14, Code of Federal Reg3 ulations, may continue to conduct nonstop com4 mercial air tours under such letter of authoriza5 tion so long as the person— 

6 (i) as of the date of enactment of this 

7 section, has submitted (or not later than 

8 18 months after such date of enactment, 

9 submits) an application to the Adminis10 trator for an air carrier certificate under 

11 part 119, Code of Federal Regulations; 

12 and 

13 (ii) has not been issued such part 119 

14 certificate or received a denial of the appli15 cation submitted under clause (i). 

16 (C) REPORTING REQUIRED.—Beginning on 

17 the date that is 3 years after the date of enact18 ment, and every 12 months thereafter, each 

19 person that conducts commercial air tours (in20 cluding any person excluded from the certificate 

21 requirement under subparagraph (B)) shall re22 port to the Administrator the total number of 

23 commercial air tours that person conducted 

24 during the previous 12 months. 


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1 (D) OTHER TERMS.—The Administrator 

2 shall— 

3 (i) revise title 14, Code of Federal 

4 Regulations, to include definitions for the 

5 terms ‘‘aerial work’’ and ‘‘aerial photog6 raphy’’ that are limited to aerial operations 

7 performed for compensation or hire with 

8 an approved operating certificate; and 

9 (ii) to the extent necessary, revise sec10 tion 119.1(e)(4)(iii) of title 14, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations, to conform with the 

12 requirements of such definitions. 

13 (2) ADDITIONAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

14 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 

15 this Act, the Administrator shall issue new or re16 vised regulations that shall require all certificated 

17 commercial air tour operators to incorporate avoid18 ance training for controlled flight into terrain and 

19 in-flight loss of control into the training program re20 quired under part 121 or 135 of title 14, Code of 

21 Federal Regulations, as applicable. The training 

22 shall address reducing the risk of accidents involving 

23 unintentional flight into instrument meteorological 

24 conditions to address day, night, and low visibility 

25 environments with special attention paid to research 


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1 available as of the date of enactment of this Act on 

2 human factors issues involved in such accidents, in3 cluding but not limited to— 

4 (A) specific terrain, weather, and infra5 structure challenges relevant in the local oper6 ating environment that increase the risk of such 

7 accidents; 

8 (B) pilot decision-making relevant to the 

9 avoidance of instrument meteorological condi10 tions while operating under visual flight rules; 

11 (C) use of terrain awareness displays; 

12 (D) spatial disorientation risk factors and 

13 countermeasures; and 

14 (E) strategies for maintaining control, in15 cluding the use of automated systems. 

16 (b) AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, shall 

18 convene an aviation rulemaking committee to review 

19 and develop findings and recommendations to in20 form— 

21 (A) establishing a performance-based 

22 standard for flight data monitoring for all com23 mercial air tour operators that reviews all avail24 able data sources to identify deviations from esVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1032.IS S1032

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1 tablished areas of operation and potential safety 

2 issues; 

3 (B) requiring all commercial air tour oper4 ators to install flight data recording devices ca5 pable of supporting collection and dissemination 

6 of the data incorporated in the Flight Oper7 ational Quality Assurance Program (or, if an 

8 aircraft cannot be retrofitted with such equip9 ment, requiring the commercial air tour oper10 ator for such aircraft to collect and maintain 

11 flight data through alternative methods); 

12 (C) requiring all commercial air tour oper13 ators to implement a flight data monitoring 

14 program, such as a Flight Operational Quality 

15 Assurance Program; 

16 (D) establishing methods to provide effec17 tive terrain awareness and warning; and 

18 (E) establishing methods to provide effec19 tive traffic avoidance in identified high-traffic 

20 tour areas, such as requiring air tour operators 

21 that operate within those areas be equipped 

22 with an Automatic Dependent Surveillance23 Broadcast Out- and In-supported traffic advi24 sory system that— 


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1 (i) includes both visual and aural 

2 alerts; 

3 (ii) is driven by an algorithm designed 

4 to eliminate nuisance alerts; and 

5 (iii) is operational during all flight op6 erations. 

7 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The aviation rulemaking 

8 committee shall consist of members appointed by the 

9 Administrator, including— 

10 (A) representatives of industry, including 

11 manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft tech12 nologies; 

13 (B) representatives of aviation operator or14 ganizations; and 

15 (C) aviation safety experts with specific 

16 knowledge of safety management systems and 

17 flight data monitoring programs under part 135 

18 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

19 (3) DUTIES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

21 shall direct the aviation rulemaking committee 

22 to make findings and submit recommendations 

23 regarding each of the matters specified in sub24 paragraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1). 


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1 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out its 

2 duties under subparagraph (A), the Adminis3 trator shall direct the aviation rulemaking com4 mittee to consider— 

5 (i) recommendations of the National 

6 Transportation Safety Board; 

7 (ii) recommendations of previous avia8 tion rulemaking committees that reviewed 

9 flight data monitoring program require10 ments on part 135 commercial operators; 

11 (iii) recommendations from industry 

12 safety organizations, including but not lim13 ited to the Vertical Aviation Safety Team 

14 (VAST), the General Aviation Joint Safety 

15 Committee, and the United States Heli16 copter Safety Team (USHST); 

17 (iv) scientific data derived from a 

18 broad range of flight data recording tech19 nologies capable of continuously transmit20 ting and that support a measurable and 

21 viable means of assessing data to identify 

22 and correct hazardous trends; 

23 (v) appropriate use of data for modi24 fying behavior to prevent accidents; 


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1 (vi) the need to accommodate techno2 logical advancements in flight data record3 ing technology; 

4 (vii) data gathered from aviation safe5 ty reporting programs; 

6 (viii) appropriate methods to provide 

7 effective terrain awareness and warning 

8 system (TAWS) protections while miti9 gating nuisance alerts for aircraft; 

10 (ix) the need to accommodate the di11 versity of airworthiness standards under 

12 part 27 and part 29 of title 14, Code of 

13 Federal Regulations; 

14 (x) the need to accommodate diversity 

15 of operations and mission sets; 

16 (xi) benefits of third-party data anal17 ysis for large and small operations; 

18 (xii) accommodations necessary for 

19 small businesses; and 

20 (xiii) other issues as necessary. 

21 (4) REPORTS AND REGULATIONS.—The Admin22 istrator shall— 

23 (A) not later than 20 months after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, submit to the 

25 Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1032.IS S1032

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1 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

2 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

3 of Representatives a report based on the find4 ings of the aviation rulemaking committee; 

5 (B) not later than 12 months after the 

6 date of submission of the report under subpara7 graph (A), and after consideration of the rec8 ommendations of the aviation rulemaking com9 mittee, issue an intent to proceed with proposed 

10 rulemakings regarding each of the matters 

11 specified in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of 

12 paragraph (1); and 

13 (C) not later than 3 years after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, issue a final rule with 

15 respect to each of the matters specified in such 

16 subparagraphs of paragraph (1). 

17 SEC. 5. EXPEDITED PROCESS FOR OBTAINING OPERATING 

18 CERTIFICATES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall imple20 ment procedures to improve the process for obtaining op21 erating certificates under part 119 of title 14, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations. 

23 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out subsection 

24 (a), beginning on the date that is 18 months after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall give 


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1 priority consideration to operators that must obtain a cer2 tificate in accordance with section 4(a)(1) of this Act. 

3 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

5 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

6 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

7 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep8 resentatives a report describing— 

9 (1) how the procedures implemented under sub10 section (a) will increase the efficiency of the process 

11 for obtaining operating certificates under part 119 

12 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and, if ap13 plicable, certificates authorizing operations under 

14 part 135 of such title; 

15 (2) how considerations under subsection (b) will 

16 be incorporated into procedures implemented under 

17 subsection (a); and 

18 (3) any additional resources required to imple19 ment procedures under subsection (a). 

20 (d) ADDITIONAL REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later 

21 than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

22 annually thereafter the Administrator shall submit a re23 port to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans24 portation of the Senate and the Committee on TransporVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1032.IS S1032

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1 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

2 that— 

3 (1) includes— 

4 (A) data on certification approvals and de5 nials; and 

6 (B) data on duration of key phases of the 

7 certification process; and 

8 (2) identifies certification policies in need of re9 form or repeal. 

10 SEC. 6. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR SPORT PARACHUTE 

11 OPERATIONS. 

12 (a) AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE.—The Ad13 ministrator, shall convene an aviation rulemaking com14 mittee to review and develop findings and recommenda15 tions to inform— 

16 (1) rulemaking governing parachute operations 

17 conducted in the United States that are subject to 

18 the requirements of part 105 of title 14, Code of 

19 Federal Regulations, to address— 

20 (A) Federal Aviation Administration-ap21 proved aircraft maintenance and inspection pro22 grams that consider, at a minimum, require23 ments for compliance with engine manufactur24 ers’ recommended maintenance instructions, 

25 such as service bulletins and service information 


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1 letters for time between overhauls and compo2 nent life limits; 

3 (B) initial and annual recurrent pilot pro4 ficiency checking programs for pilots conducting 

5 parachute operations that address, at a min6 imum, operation- and aircraft-specific weight 

7 and balance calculations, preflight inspections, 

8 emergency and recovery procedures, and para9 chutist egress procedures for each type of air10 craft flown; and 

11 (C) initial and annual recurrent pilot re12 view programs for parachute operations pilots 

13 that address, at a minimum, operation-specific 

14 and aircraft-specific weight and balance calcula15 tions, preflight inspections, emergency and re16 covery procedures, and parachutist egress pro17 cedures for each type of aircraft flown, as well 

18 as competency flight checks to determine pilot 

19 competence in practical skills and techniques in 

20 each type of aircraft; 

21 (2) the revision of guidance material contained 

22 in Advisory Circular 105–2E (relating to sport para23 chute jumping), to include guidance for parachute 

24 operations in implementing the Federal Aviation Ad25 ministration-approved aircraft maintenance and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1032.IS S1032

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1 spection program and the pilot training and pilot 

2 proficiency checking programs required under any 

3 new or revised regulations issued in accordance with 

4 paragraph (1); and 

5 (3) the revision of guidance materials issued in 

6 Order 8900.1 entitled ‘‘Flight Standards Informa7 tion Management System’’, to include guidance for 

8 Federal Aviation Administration inspectors who 

9 oversee part 91 of title 14 Code of Federal Regula10 tions, operations conducted under any of the excep11 tions specified in section 119.1(e) of title 14, Code 

12 of Federal Regulations, which include parachute op13 erations. 

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The aviation rulemaking com15 mittee shall consist of members appointed by the Adminis16 trator, including— 

17 (1) representatives of industry, including manu18 facturers of aircraft and aircraft technologies; 

19 (2) representatives of parachute operator orga20 nizations; and 

21 (3) aviation safety experts with specific knowl22 edge of safety management systems and flight data 

23 monitoring programs under part 135 and part 105 

24 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

25 (c) DUTIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall di2 rect the aviation rulemaking committee to make 

3 findings and submit recommendations regarding 

4 each of the matters specified in paragraphs (1) 

5 through (3) of subsection (a). 

6 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out its du7 ties under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall di8 rect the aviation rulemaking committee to con9 sider— 

10 (A) findings and recommendations of the 

11 National Transportation Safety Board generally 

12 as relevant and specifically those related to 

13 parachute operations, including the June 21, 

14 2019, incident in Mokuleia, Hawaii; 

15 (B) recommendations of previous aviation 

16 rulemaking committees that considered similar 

17 issues; 

18 (C) recommendations from industry safety 

19 organizations, including, but not limited to, the 

20 United States Parachute Association; 

21 (D) appropriate use of data for modifying 

22 behavior to prevent accidents; 

23 (E) data gathered from aviation safety re24 porting programs; 


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1 (F) the need to accommodate diversity of 

2 operations and mission sets; 

3 (G) accommodations necessary for small 

4 businesses; and 

5 (H) other issues as necessary. 

6 (d) REPORTS AND REGULATIONS.—The Adminis7 trator shall— 

8 (1) not later than 20 months after the date of 

9 enactment of this Act, submit a report based on the 

10 findings of the aviation rulemaking committee to the 

11 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation of the Senate and to the Committee on Trans13 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep14 resentatives; 

15 (2) not later than 12 months after the date of 

16 submission of the report under paragraph (1), and 

17 after consideration of the recommendations of the 

18 aviation rulemaking committee, issue an intent to 

19 proceed with proposed rulemakings regarding each 

20 of the matters specified in paragraphs (1) through 

21 (3) of subsection (a); and 

22 (3) not later than 3 years after the date of en23 actment of this Act, issue a final rule with respect 

24 to each of the matters specified in such paragraphs 

25 of subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad3 ministrator, to remain available until expended, such sums 

4 as necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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