The Internet public meeting on National Air Tour Standards begins Feb. 23 at 9 a.m.

Below is all the information I was able to find on the FAA.GOV web
site at this time. I'm not sure the actual link to the Internet
public meeting is actually among the links currently (February 22,
2004] provide on the FAA web site, but there is a lot of good
information on how to voice your opinion on the FAA's rulemaking that
would remove a pilot's current ability to conduct sight seeing flights
that has been provided in the FARs for decades.


-------------------- FAA Web Site Content ------------------------

http://www2.faa.gov/avr/arm/rulemaki...m.cfm?nav=part

Public Meeting on the Internet
National Air Tour Safety Standards
Notice of Proposed Rule Making
Docket FAA-1998-4521

Why is the FAA holding a public meeting on the Internet?

We are holding this public meeting for several reasons.

" First, because comments received so far have identified a
number of possible unintended consequences; particularly in the
areas of vintage aircraft operations and charitable and community
events. We are conducting this public meeting to elicit your
specific input for alternatives that would allow these operations
to continue and minimize the safety risk.

" Second, most of the comments focus on only a few areas of the
rule. While we have received many comments from those interested
in vintage aircraft, we have received few comments from part 135
or part 121 air tour operators. We hope to elicit comments from
all persons who may be affected by the proposed rule.

" Third, a public meeting allows us to ask you specific
questions about the operations you conduct and how the proposed
rule may affect your operations. For example, we may ask
questions to help us better understand what types of flights are
conducted as charity or community event flights and how they are
conducted.

" Finally, but not least, we are holding a public meeting on the
Internet because we believe it is the best way to reach the most
people who are interested in the proposed rule. With limited
funds for public meetings, we would simply not be able to hold a
traditional public meeting in many of the places where tour
operators are located.

We extended the comment period to April 19, 2004 so you will have
an opportunity to comment further after the close of the public
meeting.


How does the meeting work?

This public meeting is available to anyone with Internet access 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, for 14 days, from 9:30 am on February
23 through 4:30 pm on March 5.

This public meeting does not replace the public docket. We read
the comments in docket FAA-1998-4521 (http://dms.dot.gov)
everyday. It is not necessary to submit your comments to both the
comments received during this public meeting in the docket after
the meeting ends.

We are looking for helpful information to help us develop a final
rule acceptable to you and to us. Please keep your comments
informative and factual. If you disagree with a portion of the
proposed rule, it is most helpful to explain why you disagree,
provide data to support your position, and, if possible, propose
an alternative that will achieve an equivalent level of safety.
We may omit or edit comments that include obscenities or indecent
material, that contain embedded web sites, or that disparage any
individual or company.

All participants must log in.


How do I participate?

Click the link at the bottom of this page. It will take you
directly to the public meeting. At the login prompt, please enter
the requested information.

After you enter the public meeting, you will find the following
three discussion forums:

1. Community and Charity Events
2. Part 91 Sightseeing in accordance with 25 mile exception
3. Existing Part 121/135 Air Tour Operators

You may enter and participate in one or more of the discussion
forums. This allows you to participate in areas that apply
directly to you without requiring you to read parts that don't
apply to you.

We will try to keep the discussion focused on the issues. We may
ask you for more information. We will summarize the comments to
keep the discussion focused and moving forward. We may also
explore possible solutions. We do not intend to write a final
rule online. We will not make any commitments or final decisions
until after the public meeting and the comment period have closed.
We want to understand your situation and obtain information from
you that will help us write a rule that will keep air tours safe
without placing unnecessary burdens on the air tour industry.


Unregistered Users
You may submit an electronic document without registering.
However, frequent submitters may wish to Register. Registration
information is used to automatically fill in the document
submission sheet.
http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/ProcRegistration.cfm

Registered Users
If you have registered, you may fill in your User ID and Password
here. Then click Continue to continue with the submission process
http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/


__________________________________________________ ________________________

The discussion forums

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that
we eliminate the 25-mile exception under which many of you
operate. Full compliance with the NTSB recommendation would end
these flights. We share the concerns of the NTSB about safety but
welcome suggestions that will achieve an equivalent level of
safety without ending these flights. We have divided the
discussion on this into two forums: (1) Community and Charity
Events and (2) Part 91 sightseeing under the 25-mile exception.
When you enter the Public Meeting, you will notice that we ask a
few questions within each forum. Please respond to any or all of
the questions.

Community and Charity Events

1. Community and Charity Events

Many of you have expressed concerns in your comments about
proposed restrictions on sightseeing tours for charitable or
community events. We understand the value of these flights to
worthy causes and local communities. We proposed a four-event
limitation as a compromise that would allow some of these flights
to continue. We will consider alternatives to the proposal in the
NPRM that will provide an equivalent level of safety. We
encourage your input.

An alternative that has been suggested to the four-event
limitation is to increase the qualifications of the pilot. For
example, it has been suggested that we could allow the option of a
commercial pilot certificate or a private pilot certificate with
500 hours. A commercial pilot certificate can be obtained in
fewer than 500 hours, but has specific requirements that assure
competency.

We have established the following discussion threads in this forum
to help focus the discussion.

" Does a four-event limitation address the safety issues and the
concerns of operators of charity and community event flights?

" If we were to remove the four-event limitation, but require
either a commercial pilot certificate or a private pilot
certificate with 500 hours, would this address the safety
issues and the concerns of operators of charity and community
events?

" Do you have other ideas that will allow these flights to
continue and still establish a level of safety that is
equivalent to the NTSB recommendation?

" Do you need clarification of any part of the proposed rule?




Part 91 Commercial Sightseeing in Accordance With 25 Mile
Exception

Your comments have been helpful and have pointed out some
unintended consequences of the proposals, particularly in the
areas of vintage aircraft operations and charitable and community
events. The NTSB was concerned that we have insufficient data on
this group of air tour operators and we agree. They recommended
that we should require all air tour operators to obtain a
certificate in order to build a database of air tour operators.

Our traditional method of keeping data on operators has been
through certification and issuing operation specifications. Many
of you pointed out that you operate under circumstances (for
example, you use non-aviation fuel, etc.) that make a traditional
certification impossible. We welcome alternatives that will
satisfy the NTSB concern of data for tracking safety history and
that are not as burdensome as certification.

An alternative to part 121 or 135 certification may be to require
management specifications (similar to those that were designed for
part 91 subpart K, Fractional Ownership) that would provide us
essential data but require minimal administrative burden on
operators. We encourage you to suggest other options that will
establish a level of safety equivalent to the NTSB recommendation.

We are trying to improve oversight of this group of operators and
ensure that a proper level of safety is met. However, we
recognize that part 135 may not be the best method of reaching
this goal. We would like to hear specifically what in part 135 is
unworkable for your organization and why, and how you would
recommend achieving an equivalent level of safety for these
smaller operators.

We have established the following discussion threads in this forum
to help focus the discussion:

" Do you believe that management specifications instead of
certification and operating specifications would achieve the
same level as safety as the proposed rule and impose fewer
burdens on operators?

" Do you have other suggestions that will achieve a level of
safety that is equivalent to the proposed rule and will impose
fewer burdens on operators?

" Do you need clarification of any part of the proposed rule?

http://dms.dot.gov/search/document.c...&docketid=4521
http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchResu...hTyp e=docket



The third forum is for certificated part 121 and part 135
operations.

The recommendations that affect certificated air tour operators
are based on NTSB recommendations and the history of commercial
air tours in the United States. Many of the proposals have
already been implemented successfully in Hawaii under SFAR 71.
Some of you have suggested that the NTSB recommendation to
establish a national safety rule is not appropriate. In the
proposal, we propose allowing deviations when an operator can
demonstrate that they can safely operate under the deviation. We
encourage you to suggest alternates that will promote an
equivalent level of safety.

We have established the following threads in this forum to discuss
specific proposals in the NPRM and focus the discussion:

" What concerns and recommendations do you have about the
proposed requirements for over-water flights and flotation
devices?

" What questions or suggestions do you have about cloud
clearance issues?

" Will the helicopter performance plan requirements contribute
to safety? If not, why not and what would you recommend?

" Will the proposed altitude and stand-off distance
requirements, when considered with deviation authority
contribute to safety?

" Do you need clarification of any part of the proposed rule?



----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Internet public meeting on National Air Tour Standards begins Feb.
23 at 9 a.m. EST. The Federal Register announcement:
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/p78/268870.pdf
[reproduced below in ASCII text format]


6218 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 /
Proposed Rules
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2004.
John M. Allen, Acting Director, Flight Standards Service.
[FR Doc. 04–2872 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Parts 61, 91, 119, 121, 135, and 136
[Docket No. FAA–1998–4521; Notice No. 04–02]
RIN 2120–AF07
National Air Tour Safety Standards
AGENCY: Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting on the Internet.
SUMMARY: On October 22, 2003, the FAA
published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes
regulations to govern commercial air
tours throughout the United States. We
are announcing an Internet public
meeting to supplement the traditional
comment period. The public meeting
will help us consider the concerns of
those who may be most affected by the
proposed rule as we develop a final rule
that will promote safety in the
commercial air tour industry.
DATES: You may access the public
meeting at any time beginning February
23, 2004, at 9 a.m. EST and ending on
March 5, 2004, at 4:30 p.m. EST.
ADDRESSES: You may access the on-line
public meeting at
http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm/rulemakingforum.cfm?nav=part.
Under the ‘View Docket/Comments’ column,
click once on ‘Enter Public Meeting.’
Follow the instructions to participate in
the discussion.

You may submit written comments to
the docket, whether or not you
participate in the public meeting.
Address your comments to the Docket
Management System, U.S. Department
of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400
Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC
20590–0001. You must identify the
docket number FAA–1998–4521 at the
beginning of your comments, and you
should submit two copies of your
comments. The public meeting on the
Internet is intended to supplement the
docket. A copy of the discussion from
the public meeting will be submitted to
the docket after the close of the public
meeting.

You may also submit comments
through the Internet to http://dms/dot.gov.
You may review the public
docket containing comments to these
proposed regulations in person in the
Dockets Office between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. The Dockets Office is
on the plaza level at the Department of
Transportation building at the address
above. Also, you may review public
dockets on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alberta Brown, Air Transportation
Division, Flight Standards Service,
AFS–200, Federal Aviation Administration,
800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591;
telephone (202) 267–8166; e-mail:
.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Background
We published a notice of proposed
rulemaking on October 22, 2003 (68 FR
60572) that proposes to regulate
commercial air tours throughout the
United States. The notice provided a 90-
day comment period that was to end on
January 20, 2004. We received
significant response to this NPRM,
including numerous requests to extend
the comment period and to conduct a
series of public meetings. On January
16, 2004, we published a notice to
extend the comment period an
additional 90 days to April 19, 2004 (69FR 2529).

Public Meeting on the Internet
We have carefully considered the
requests for a series of public meetings.
Traditionally, public meetings have
been useful when we have been able to
identify a geographic area that may be
most affected by a proposed rule. We
could then supplement the comment
period with a public meeting that would
allow those most affected to express
their views directly to FAA
representatives. As of the date of this
notice, we have received approximately
1,500 comments in docket FAA–1998–
4521. Most of the comments are from
individuals or small aviation
businesses. The persons who submitted
these comments are widely dispersed
throughout the country, many of them
in small communities. It would be
impractical to conduct a public meeting
in every community in America where
someone could be affected by the
proposed rule. If we were to choose to
hold public meetings only in areas
where large tour operators are located,
they would have a disproportionate
opportunity to participate, to the
disadvantage of the many small
operators who have responded to this
proposed rule.

The Internet allows us to overcome
the barriers of geography and enables
anyone with an Internet connection to
participate in a public discussion of the
issues. A further advantage of a public
meeting on the Internet is that it is not
limited by time. A traditional public
meeting would be scheduled at a
particular place, on a particular day, at
a specific time. Anyone with a schedule
conflict may be unable to participate. A
public meeting on the Internet can be
available 24 hours per day over a period
of several weeks. A public meeting held
on the Internet, like a traditional public
meeting, provides the opportunity to
obtain useful information from the
public. It has the additional advantage
of allowing much broader participation
throughout the country. We have
therefore decided to hold a public
meeting on the Internet.
How the Public Meeting Will Be
Conducted

To facilitate an organized and useful
discussion of the issues, we will divide
the discussion into three forums that
will address specific areas of the
proposed rule. The three forums will be:
1. Community and charity events.
This forum will discuss portions of the
proposed rule that may affect persons
who provide aerial sightseeing rides for
charitable purposes or at community
events.

2. Part 91 sightseeing in accordance
with the 25-mile exception. This forum
will discuss portions of the proposed
rule that may affect persons who are not
currently required to obtain an
operating certificate because they
conduct nonstop sighseeing flights that
begin and end at the same airport and
are conducted within a 25-mile radius
of that airport under the exception
found in section 119.1(e)(2).

3. Part 121 and part 135 commercial
air tour operators. This forum will
include discussion of portions of the
proposed rule that may affect
commercial air tour operators who
conduct tours with an air carrier
certificate under part 119 and operate
under the rules of part 121 or 135 of
Chapter 14 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.

It is possible that some may wish to
participate in more than one forum
within the public meeting. You can
participate in as many forums as you
wish. To focus the discussion and
encourage responses that will help us
address both safety issues and concerns
of those affected by the proposed rule,
in each forum we will solicit responses
to specific questions. You will be able
to read the questions on-line and submit
your answers and comments
electronically. We will participate in the
discussion throughout the 2-week forum
and may ask you clarifying questions.
While we have selected topics that we
are particularly interested in, we still
welcome all of your comments and
suggestions. We will not make any
commitments or draw any conclusions
while the docket is open for public
comment.

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 5,
2004.
Anthony F. Fazio,
Director, Office of Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 04–2911 Filed 2–6–04; 11:13 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P