# What the Air Tour and Sport Parachuting Safety Improvement Act Does

This bill tightens safety rules for two types of flying businesses: commercial air tour operators (companies that take tourists on scenic flights) and sport parachute operations (skydiving companies). The main goal is to prevent accidents by requiring better training, equipment, and oversight for these activities.

**The Big Changes for Air Tours**

Starting in three years, anyone running a commercial air tour business will need to get a formal operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration—basically a license proving they meet strict safety standards. Right now, some tour operators can fly under looser rules with just a letter of authorization. This change means tour companies will have to follow the same rigorous regulations as larger commercial airlines, including requirements for safety management systems, pilot training, and aircraft maintenance. The bill gives existing operators a five-year grace period to get their formal certificates, but they have to start the application process within 18 months.

The bill also requires all air tour pilots to receive specific training on avoiding dangerous situations like flying into bad weather when they shouldn't, crashing into terrain, and losing control of the aircraft. Tour operators will need to install equipment that continuously records flight data so the FAA can spot problems before they become accidents. In areas where many tour flights operate, companies will need traffic warning systems to help pilots avoid collisions with other aircraft.

**Changes for Skydiving Operations**

For sport parachute operations, the bill requires stricter rules around aircraft maintenance, pilot training, and proficiency checks. Parachute jump planes will need to follow manufacturer maintenance schedules more carefully, and pilots will need regular training and testing specific to the aircraft they fly and the parachuting mission. The bill specifically references a 2019 skydiving accident in Hawaii, suggesting these changes are partly a response to that tragedy.

**Who This Affects**

If you take scenic helicopter or airplane tours, you'll likely benefit from these stricter safety rules, though tour prices might increase slightly to cover compliance costs. Skydiving enthusiasts should see improved safety standards at jump centers. Tour and parachute companies will face higher regulatory burdens and costs, particularly smaller operators, though the bill includes some flexibility for small businesses. The FAA will need additional resources to process all the new certification applications and oversee these operations.

Air Tour and Sport Parachuting Safety Improvement Act of 2023

Tokuda, Jill N.

Air Tour and Sport Parachuting Safety Improvement Act of 2023 This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to update safety standards for commercial air tour operators (i.e., sightseeing airplane and helicopter flights). Within three years of the bill's enactment, all commercial air tour operators, with exceptions, must hold an air carrier certificate or commercial operator certificate. The FAA must implement procedures to improve the process for obtaining these certificates. The FAA must also issue regulations requiring commercial air tour operators and other specified operators to implement appropriate safety management systems. This is a formal, organization-wide approach to safety risk that includes systematic procedures, practices, and policies. The FAA must issue new or revised regulations requiring that all certificated commercial air tour operators incorporate into their training programs avoidance training for controlled flight into terrain and in-flight loss of control. The FAA must also convene aviation rulemaking committees and, within three years of the bill's enactment, issue final regulations <ul> <li>establishing a performance-based standard for flight data monitoring for all commercial air tour operators,</li> <li>requiring all commercial air tour operators to install flight data recording devices and implement a flight data monitoring program, </li> <li> establishing methods to provide effective traffic avoidance in identified high-traffic tour areas (e.g., requiring air tour operators to be equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance technology), and </li> <li>governing specified issues related to sports parachute operations conducted in the United States.</li> </ul>