Representative Ed Case

Dear Friend,

I apologize for the late notice, but I have been fully focused on our tragic wildfire disaster and our federal response.

As we continue together to confront the unsafe and disruptive operations of commercial tour helicopter and small aircraft throughout our Hawai’i, I want to make sure you are aware of the draft tour helicopter rules here proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If adopted, these new rules will become effective in the Spring of 2024. 

A public comment period on the proposed rules is expiring today. I ask you to submit comments through the portal provided here. If the portal is no longer accepting your comments, please mail them directly to me through nestor.garcia@mail.house.gov and we will submit them for you.

The agency states that it announced these provisions "to improve Hawai‘i air tour safety."  One of the draft rules is a new process in which air tour operators can receive authorization to safely descend below specific altitudes to avoid flying into bad weather.  You can find that proposed new process here. The FAA claims this process "will help prevent situations where pilots encounter poor visibility and become disoriented."

Tragically, this was the case when a tour helicopter crashed in deteriorating weather in a remote area of wooded terrain near Kekaha on the island of Kaua‘i. The pilot and his six passengers died in that crash on December 26, 2019. After investigating the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that a safety management system - an organization-wide program to manage risks and assure the effectiveness of safety controls - would have mitigated many of the safety issues identified in this accident.

Helicopter crash on Kaua'i (photo courtesy of National Transportation Safety Board)

The FAA is now encouraging Hawai‘i air tour operators to adopt these Safety Management Systems here while the agency works on a rule that would mandate these programs. 

Another proposed regulation would require Hawai‘i air tour operators to meet certain requirements before receiving authorization to fly lower than 1,500 feet above ground level in bad weather. The new process provides detailed guidance here to help operators to develop safety plans to support their authorization requests. The proposed new process includes recommendations for pilot training and qualifications including aircraft equipment here. The FAA will thoroughly review each operator's safety plan before issuing an authorization. 

On the one hand, these proposed rules seem to be a serious restart attempt by the FAA to address escalating air tour safety and community disruption concerns. It remains to be seen if the operators will comply with not just the letter by the spirit of these proposed initiatives and if the FAA will enforce them.

But even if they do, the concern is that the operators will just use the rules as an excuse to fly at lower altitudes claiming bad weather as opposed to not flying at all in bad weather. As this still does not face the end solution of strict compliance with all safety requirements and strict regulation of time, place and other conditions of operation to ensure safety both in the air and on the ground and to avoid community disruption.

Thank you for your continued partnership. Please contact Nestor Garcia (nestor.garcia@mail.house.gov) with any questions or needs.

P.S. Please sign up for my regular e-newsletter here.

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