I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4547 

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

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 

Mr. CASE (for himself and Mr. SHERMAN) 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 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR 

7 FLIGHTS. 

8 (a) PROHIBITION OF OVERFLIGHTS.—Notwith9 standing any other provision of law, a commercial air tour 

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


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1 (1) A military installation. 

2 (2) A national cemetery. 

3 (3) A unit of the National Wilderness Preserva4 tion System. 

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

6 (5) A unit of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys7 tem. 

8 (b) USE OF AUTOMATIC DEPENDENT SURVEIL9 LANCE-BROADCAST (ADS–B) OUT EQUIPMENT.—The 

10 Administrator shall revise section 91.227 of title 14, Code 

11 of Federal Regulations, to require the use of ADS–B Out 

12 (as such term is defined in such section) during the entire 

13 operation of a commercial air tour. 

14 (c) STERILE COCKPIT RULE.—The Administrator 

15 shall issue such regulations as are necessary to— 

16 (1) impose the requirements of section 121.542 

17 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, on a com18 mercial air tour and a pilot of a commercial air tour 

19 (including a commercial air tour that does not hold 

20 a certificate under part 121 of title 14, Code of Fed21 eral Regulations); 

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

23 narration of the air tour as duties that are not re24 quired for the safe operation of the aircraft for a 

25 commercial air tour (including a commercial air tour 


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1 that does not hold a certificate under part 121 of 

2 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations); and 

3 (3) define a critical phase of flight for a com4 mercial air tour (including a commercial air tour 

5 that does not hold a certificate under part 121 of 

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

7 ground operations involving taxi, takeoff, and land8 ing, and all other flight operations regardless of alti9 tude of operation. 

10 (d) MINIMUM ALTITUDES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of law, a commercial air tour may not op13 erate at an altitude of less than 1,500 feet. 

14 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

15 (A) SAFE HARBOR.—An operator of a 

16 commercial air tour may fly below the altitude 

17 described in paragraph (1) for reasons of safety 

18 if unpredictable circumstances occur. 

19 (B) FAA REQUIREMENTS.—The Adminis20 trator may permit an operator of a commercial 

21 air tour to operate below the altitude described 

22 in paragraph (1) for flight operations for take23 off and landing. 

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

25 individual would believe a commercial air tour could 


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

2 for the duration of the flight given the conditions at 

3 takeoff, the safe harbor described in paragraph 

4 (2)(A) shall not apply. 

5 (e) OCCUPIED AREAS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

7 provision of law, a commercial air tour may not op8 erate within half a mile of an occupied area unless 

9 the aircraft has noise suppression technology that 

10 brings noise to the lesser of— 

11 (A) a maximum level of 55 dbA as meas12 ured from such occupied area; and 

13 (B) a maximum level required in such oc14 cupied area by a requirement imposed pursuant 

15 to section 3(a) of this Act or section 40128(f) 

16 of title 49, United States Code. 

17 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall 

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

19 of Federal Regulations, and related appendices, to 

20 reduce noise limits in accordance with paragraph 

21 (1). 

22 SEC. 3. DELEGATED AUTHORITY TO STATE AND LOCAL 

23 REGULATORS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi25 sion of law, a State or locality may impose additional reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547

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1 quirements on commercial air tours (but may not waive 

2 any requirements described in this Act or in the amend3 ments made by this Act), including— 

4 (1) banning such tours; 

5 (2) imposing day and time flight restrictions; 

6 (3) regulating the total number of flights per 

7 day; 

8 (4) regulating route requirements over occupied 

9 areas; 

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

11 ocean recreation, cemeteries, and other areas of 

12 State interest; and 

13 (6) requiring commercial air tours to operate at 

14 lower decibels for purposes of noise requirements. 

15 (b) FAA EXCEPTIONS.—The Administrator may in16 validate a requirement imposed pursuant to subsection (a) 

17 if required for flight operations for takeoff and landing. 

18 SEC. 4. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT FEDERAL 

19 AND STATE REGULATORY PROCESS. 

20 During the promulgation of any regulation required 

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

22 Common Procedural Manuals, the requirements of the Ad23 ministrative Procedure Act shall apply. 


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1 SEC. 5. PENALTIES. 

2 The Administrator shall impose penalties for viola3 tions of this Act or the amendments made by this Act, 

4 including revoking any certifications or permits issued to 

5 operate a commercial air tour. 

6 SEC. 6. CONFORMING EDITS. 

7 Section 40128 of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘a national park or’’ in each 

10 place in which it appears; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘park or’’ in each place in which 

12 it appears; 

13 (3) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHOR16 ITY.—Before commencing commercial air tour oper17 ations over tribal lands, a commercial air tour oper18 ator shall apply to the Administrator for authority 

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

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

21 (5) by striking subsection (a)(5); 

22 (6) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘over 

23 the park’’ and inserting ‘‘over the lands’’; 

24 (7) by striking subsection (b)(1)(C); 

25 (8) by striking subsection (b)(3); 

26 (9) by striking subsection (b)(7); 


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1 (10) by striking subsection (c)(2)(B); 

2 (11) in subsection (c)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘at 

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

4 (12) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘over a 

5 national park under interim operating authority 

6 granted under subsection (c) or’’; 

7 (13) by striking subsection (e); 

8 (14) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(f) TRIBAL AUTHORITY.— 

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

12 provision of law, a tribal entity may impose addi13 tional requirements on commercial air tours (but 

14 may not waive any requirements described in the 

15 Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 2019 or in the amend16 ments made by the Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 

17 2019), including— 

18 ‘‘(A) banning such tours; 

19 ‘‘(B) imposing day and time flight restric20 tions; 

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

22 per day; 

23 ‘‘(D) regulating route requirements over 

24 occupied areas; 


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

2 ocean recreation, cemeteries, and other areas of 

3 tribal interest; and 

4 ‘‘(F) requiring commercial air tours to op5 erate at lower decibels for purposes of noise re6 quirements. 

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

8 the Federal Aviation Administration may invalidate 

9 a regulation imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) if 

10 required for flight operations for takeoff and land11 ing. 

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

13 term ‘tribal entity’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) tribal organizations as defined in sec15 tions 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and 

16 Education Assistance Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C. 

17 5304); 

18 ‘‘(B) tribally designated housing entities as 

19 defined in section 4(22) of the Native American 

20 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 

21 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103(22)); or 

22 ‘‘(C) Indian-owned businesses and tribal 

23 enterprises as defined in sections 3(5) and 3(8) 

24 of the Native American Business Development, 


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1 Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 

2 U.S.C. 4302(5) and (8)).’’; 

3 (15) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘over a 

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

5 (16) in subsection (g)(2), by striking ‘‘over a 

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

7 and 

8 (17) by striking subsection (g)(4). 

9 SEC. 7. NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall imple11 ment all recommendations concerning operators under 

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

13 (1) were issued by the National Transportation 

14 Safety Board; and 

15 (2) are considered by the Board to be open un16 acceptable response. 

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

18 (1) shall require all commercial air tours to op19 erate pursuant to part 135 of title 14, Code of Fed20 eral Regulations; and 

21 (2) may not permit a commercial air tour to op22 erate pursuant to part 91 of title 14, Code of Fed23 eral Regulations. 

24 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 


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

3 Aviation Administration. 

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

5 the distance above ground level between an aircraft 

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

7 location over which such aircraft is flying at any 

8 time. 

9 (3) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR.—The term ‘‘com10 mercial air tour’’ means any flight conducted for 

11 compensation or hire in a powered aircraft where a 

12 purpose of the flight is sightseeing or intentional 

13 parachuting. If the operator of a flight asserts that 

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

15 can be considered by the Administrator in making a 

16 determination of whether the flight is a commercial 

17 air tour include— 

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

19 public of willingness to conduct a sightseeing or 

20 intentional parachuting flight for compensation 

21 or hire; 

22 (B) whether a narrative was provided that 

23 referred to areas or points of interest on the 

24 surface; 

25 (C) the area of operation; 


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1 (D) the frequency of flights; 

2 (E) the route of flight; 

3 (F) the inclusion of sightseeing or inten4 tional parachuting flights as part of any travel 

5 arrangement package; or 

6 (G) whether the flight in question would or 

7 would not have been canceled based on poor vis8 ibility of the surface. 

9 (4) DBA.—The term ‘‘dbA’’ means the A10 weighted sound level or unit of measurement de11 scribing the total sound level of all noises as meas12 ured with a sound level meter using the A weighting 

13 network. 

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

15 area’’ means land area that is used by people, in16 cluding residential areas, commercial areas, and rec17 reational areas. 

Æ 


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