Rules would restrict air tours

Suzanne Struglinski

Monday, Jan. 19, 2004 | 10:40 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Tourist flights over the Las Vegas Strip and the Grand Canyon could be subject to new, stricter rules proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

But the air tour industry and individual operators are objecting to the rules.

Based on public comments received since October, the FAA said Friday in the Federal Register that it will take public comments on the regulations until April 19. The public comment period was set to end Tuesday.

The administration wants commercial tour operators natiowide to follow rules imposed on tours in Hawaii. When proposed in October, the FAA said that since the rules have been in place for Hawaii tours since 1994, the number of accidents has dropped.

The proposal sets new standards for low-level flights, visibility limits and flights over water.

The proposed rule bans commercial air tours closer than a horizontal radius of 1,500 feet to any person, structure, vehicle, or vessel or 1,000 feet to the ground.

Pilots would also be prohibited from conducting a commercial air tour in an airplane or a helicopter when the visibility is less than 2 statute miles during the day or 3 statute miles at night, among several other rules.

Helicopters used in commercial air tours would need to be equipped with fixed floats or flotation systems.

The proposed rules also outline guidelines for operators that want to participate in charity events. The FAA must be notified at least seven days before the event and the pilot must have at least 500 hours flying time. No aerobatic flights can be performed.