June 17, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 112 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S3059-S3060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       THE AIR TOUR AND SKYDIVING SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2020

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, in 2019, 21 people died in Hawaii in three 
tragic air recreation accidents involving helicopters or planes.
  On December 26, 2019, while many of us were enjoying the holidays 
with our loved ones and friends, seven people lost their lives when an 
air tour helicopter crashed into a mountain on the Island of Kauai. All 
aboard the helicopter were killed, a mother and daughter from 
Wisconsin, a family of four from Switzerland, and the pilot. We still 
do not know the cause of the crash. In April 2019, an air tour 
helicopter crashed on a street in the residential neighborhood of 
Kailua on the island of Oahu, killing all aboard: two passengers and 
the pilot. We were fortunate that no one on the ground was injured. On 
June 22, 2019, 11 people died when a small plane crashed during take-
off on a skydiving trip from Dillingham Airfield on Oahu. In the first 
accident of 2020, on March 5, six people walked away after a hard 
landing of an air tour helicopter on the Big Island of Hawaii. No one 
on the helicopter was seriously injured.
  Since 2015, the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, has 
investigated 10 air tour accidents in Hawaii and more than 46 
nationwide.
  Senator Schatz and I are introducing the Air Tour and Skydiving 
Safety Improvement Act of 2020. The bill takes the outstanding safety 
issues and recommendations identified by the NTSB to improve the safety 
and accountability of air sightseeing tours and parachute tours. The 
Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, has not implemented the NTSB's 
recommendations.
  In most years, Hawaii welcomes nearly 10 million visitors annually to 
enjoy everything Hawaii has to offer, from our Aloha spirit displayed 
by our resident, to the scenic beauty of the State. It is critical that 
the helicopters and planes taking both visitors and residents 
sightseeing or parachuting operate as safely as possible.
  The NTSB has recommended multiple improvements to the standards 
covering air tour and parachute operations by the FAA. In the aftermath 
of the helicopter crash in Kailua and the crash of two chartered 
floatplanes in Alaska, NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt said in May 
2019: ``While these tragic accidents are still under investigation, and 
no findings or causes have been determined, each crash underscores the 
urgency of improving the safety of charter flights by implementing 
existing NTSB safety recommendations.'' To highlight this urgency, the 
NTSB put improvements to air tour aircraft on its 2019-2020 Most Wanted 
List of transportation safety improvements.
  Let me describe the provisions of the legislation. First, the bill 
requires parachute and air tour companies to operate under the same 
standards as other commercial air operations, such as commuter airlines 
under Part 135, which has certification standards. Currently, 
commercial companies can operate like private civil aircraft if they 
operate within 25 miles of their airport, under regulations found in 
Part 91. The NTSB recommends that all commercial air operations meet 
the same standards for training, certification, operations, and crew 
rest under part 135.
  The bill requires that the FAA establish a standard for terrain 
awareness and warning systems and minimum standards for training pilots 
to avoid flying into mountains and other terrain. This may have 
prevented the helicopter crash on Kauai in December 2019, which crashed 
into the side of a mountain.
  Following another NTSB recommendation, the bill requires operators 
install crash-resistant flight data recording equipment, we can learn 
more from accidents and to help identify flaws in equipment and improve 
pilot performance.
  The helicopter involved in the December 2019 crash in Kauai lacked 
flight data monitoring, so inspectors were uncertain of its flight path 
and performance. The bill requires the FAA to establish and implement a 
standard for remote monitoring of flight data. It also requires 
operators to establish a flight data monitoring program to identify 
changes from normal procedures and other potential safety issues.
  The bill includes provisions to make sure that the current and future 
recommendations of the NTSB are given full consideration by the FAA. It 
requires the FAA to indicate how their response to NTSB safety 
recommendations will meet or exceed safety outcomes of the NTSB 's 
recommendations, if the FAA declines to adopt the NTSB recommendations. 
The bill also directs the U.S. Department of Transportation to include 
NTSB recommendations on air tours and parachute operations in its 
annual report on aviation safety.
  The safety of parachute operations would be improved by the standards 
that I have described, but the bill also addresses the unique safety 
needs of parachute operations. The bill would require the FAA to 
develop new or revised regulations for parachute operations, including 
enhanced maintenance and inspection for aircraft and training and 
recurrent testing requirements for pilots.
  The bill we are introducing today would make great improvements to 
increase the safety of air tours. This is a first step. But this 
legislation does not address all the issues with air tour helicopters. 
The issues of noise, frequency, and safety associated with air tour 
operations in the State of Hawaii have been going on for decades.
  In September 2016, at the request of State Representative Onishi, my 
office requested a meeting for Big Island State legislators with the 
FAA Honolulu Flight Standards District Office, or FSDO, to address the 
issue of the helicopter noise for residents in East Hawaii. We learned 
at this meeting that FAA-FSDO and Hawaii Department of Transportation 
do not have the authority to address the noise issue raised by the 
community.
  In March 2017, FAA and the National Park Service representatives 
traveled to Hawaii from their DC headquarters to convene public 
listening sessions in Honolulu and Hilo, respectively, ``to better 
identify specific concerns with helicopter operations within and 
outside of national parks.'' Community members were looking for relief 
from noise issues associated with air tour overflights over residential 
areas.
  We were hopeful that these meetings were a signal of FAA's engagement 
so we could address community concerns with the air tour operators. 
Individuals from the community came prepared and raised questions about 
how other communities across the country have dealt with this issue 
including the New York North Shore Helicopter Route and the adjustments 
to routes over Los Angeles County.
  State and local governments, air tour companies, and the community 
were interested in engaging. Unfortunately, while the FAA initiated the 
meetings, they disappointed many in our community when they announced 
that their agency could only offer technical advice and the effort did 
not result in an air tour safety plan.

[[Page S3060]]

  In another example of FAA inaction, Congress required the FAA and the 
National Park Service to develop air tour management plans for our 
national parks under the Air Tour Management Act of 2000. For two 
decades, interagency fighting prevented any progress from being made. 
In 2018, the Hawaii Island Malama Pono Coalition and Public Employees 
for Environmental Responsibility, groups representing national park 
employees and visitors, filed a petition in Federal court to compel the 
agencies to regulate air tours at seven parks.
  On May 1, 2020, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia ordered the FAA and the National Park Service to develop air 
tour management plans for 23 national parks, including Haleakala 
National Park and Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. The court found 
that the agencies' efforts were ``underwhelming,'' ``ultimately 
unsuccessful,'' and failed to develop the plans in a reasonable amount 
of time.
  The court expects the agencies to develop the air tour management 
plans for all 23 parks within 2 years, and the court will retain 
jurisdiction to continue oversight until the agencies have completed 
the plans.
  Volcanoes National Park was the subject of 8,333 air tour flights in 
2018, over 22 flights per day, the highest number of air tour flights 
of any national park. Haleakala had the fourth most air tour flights in 
2018, with 4,757 flights. The residents in the surrounding communities 
in the flight path and visitors trying to enjoy the quiet of nature are 
all too aware of the visual and the noise from air tour flights.
  With the decision by the Court, many in Hawaii now expect action in 
the development of air tour management plans for Hawaii's two national 
parks.
  Of course, air tours affect residents and communities in Hawaii 
throughout the State. On January 9 of this year, members of the Hawaii 
Helicopter Association, Hawaii Department of Transportation's Airports 
Division, appointees from the State legislature, and other stakeholders 
formed the Hawaii Air Noise and Safety Task Force with representatives 
from the FAA as technical advisers. The task force was created to 
``fund public meetings, produce a study and make recommendations 
concerning the helicopter and fixed wing tour industry.''
  It remains clear to me that the FAA needs to address its failure to 
oversee the air tour industry. On January 31, Senator Schatz and I 
joined in the Senate Commerce Committee's request for an investigation 
by the inspector general of the Department of Transportation into 
allegations that the FAA's Honolulu Flight Standards District Office 
ignored serious concerns about the safety of helicopter air tours in 
Hawaii. We requested an investigation into the oversight lapses raised 
by the whistleblowers. The ongoing investigation by the inspector 
general will show whether FAA is able to enforce its own rules in 
Hawaii.
  What remains clear is that the NTSB has recommended additional 
standards to the FAA to improve safety throughout the country, but the 
FAA has not addressed these safety issues. We have waited long enough 
for action.
  The legislation we are introducing will strengthen the rules to 
ensure accountability and safety for Hawaii's aviation operators and 
travelers.

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