555
Federal Aviation Administration, DOT
§ 136.37
lands for the 12-month period preceding
enactment.
(d)
Commercial air tour operation
—
(1) Means any flight, conducted for
compensation or hire in a powered air-
craft where a purpose of the flight is
sightseeing over a national park, with-
in
1
⁄
2
mile outside the boundary of any
national park, or over tribal lands, dur-
ing which the aircraft flies—
(i) Below 5,000 feet above ground level
(except for the purpose of takeoff or
landing, or as necessary for the safe op-
eration of an aircraft as determined
under the rules and regulations of the
Federal Aviation Administration re-
quiring the pilot-in-command to take
action to ensure the safe operation of
the aircraft);
(ii) Less than 1 mile laterally from
any geographic feature within the park
(unless more than
1
⁄
2
mile outside the
boundary); or
(iii) Except as provided in § 136.35.
(2) The Administrator may consider
the following factors in determining
whether a flight is a commercial air
tour operation for purposes of this sub-
part—
(i) Whether there was a holding out
to the public of willingness to conduct
a sightseeing flight for compensation
or hire;
(ii) Whether a narrative that referred
to areas or points of interest on the
surface below the route of the flight
was provided by the person offering the
flight;
(iii) The area of operation;
(iv) The frequency of flights con-
ducted by the person offering the
flight;
(v) The route of flight;
(vi) The inclusion of sightseeing
flights as part of any travel arrange-
ment package offered by the person of-
fering the flight;
(vii) Whether the flight would have
been canceled based on poor visibility
of the surface below the route of the
flight; and
(viii) Any other factors that the Ad-
ministrator and Director consider ap-
propriate.
(3) For purposes of § 136.35, means any
flight conducted for compensation or
hire in a powered aircraft where a pur-
pose of the flight is sightseeing over a
national park.
(e)
National park
means any unit of
the national park system. (See title 16
of the U.S. Code, section 1,
et seq.
)
(f)
Tribal lands
means that portion of
Indian country (as that term is defined
in section 1151 of title 18 of the U.S.
Code) that is within or abutting a na-
tional park.
(g)
Administrator
means the Adminis-
trator of the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration.
(h)
Director
means the Director of the
National Park Service.
(i)
Superintendent
means the duly ap-
pointed representative of the National
Park Service for a particular unit of
the national park system.
[Doc. No. FAA–2001–8690, 67 FR 65667, Oct. 25,
2002. Redesignated and amended by Amdt.
136–1, 72 FR 6912, Feb. 13, 2007; Amdt. 136–1, 72
FR 31450, June 7, 2007]
§ 136.35 Prohibition of commercial air
tour operations over the Rocky
Mountain National Park.
All commercial air tour operations in
the airspace over the Rocky Mountain
National Park are prohibited regard-
less of altitude.
[Doc. No. FAA–2001–8690, 67 FR 65667, Oct. 25,
2002. Redesignated by Amdt. 136–1, 72 FR
6912, Feb. 13, 2007]
§ 136.37 Overflights of national parks
and tribal lands.
(a)
General.
A commercial air tour
operator may not conduct commercial
air tour operations over a national
park or tribal land except—
(1) In accordance with this section;
(2) In accordance with conditions and
limitations prescribed for that oper-
ator by the Administrator; and
(3) In accordance with any applicable
air tour management plan for the park
or tribal lands.
(b)
Application for operating authority.
Before commencing commercial air
tour operations over a national park or
tribal lands, a commercial air tour op-
erator shall apply to the Administrator
for authority to conduct the operations
over the park or tribal lands.
(c)
Number of operations authorized.
In
determining the number of authoriza-
tions to issue to provide commercial
air tour operations over a national
park, the Administrator, in coopera-
tion with the Director, shall take into
556
14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition)
§ 136.39
consideration the provisions of the air
tour management plan, the number of
existing commercial air tour operators
and current level of service and equip-
ment provided by any such operators,
and the financial viability of each com-
mercial air tour operation.
(d)
Cooperation with National Park
Service.
Before granting an application
under this subpart, the Administrator,
in cooperation with the Director, shall
develop an air tour management plan
in accordance with § 136.39 and imple-
ment such a plan.
(e)
Time limit on response to applica-
tions.
Every effort will be made to act
on any application under this subpart
and issue a decision on the application
not later than 24 months after it is re-
ceived or amended.
(f)
Priority.
In acting on applications
under this paragraph to provide com-
mercial air tour operations over a na-
tional park, the Administrator shall
give priority to an application under
this paragraph in any case where a new
entrant commercial air tour operator
is seeking operating authority with re-
spect to that national park.
(g)
Exception.
Notwithstanding this
section, commercial air tour operators
may conduct commercial air tour oper-
ations over a national park under part
91 of this chapter if—
(1) Such activity is permitted under
part 119 of this chapter;
(2) The operator secures a letter of
agreement from the Administrator and
the Superintendent for that park de-
scribing the conditions under which
the operations will be conducted; and
(3) The number of operations under
this exception is limited to not more
than a total of 5 flights by all opera-
tors in any 30-day period over a par-
ticular park.
(h)
Special rule for safety requirement.
Notwithstanding § 136.41, an existing
commercial air tour operator shall
apply, not later than January 23, 2003
for operating authority under part 119
of this chapter, for certification under
part 121 or part 135 of this chapter. A
new entrant commercial air tour oper-
ator shall apply for such authority be-
fore conducting commercial air tour
operations over a national park or trib-
al lands that are within or abut a na-
tional park. The Administrator shall
make every effort to act on such appli-
cation for a new entrant and issue a de-
cision on the application not later than
24 months after it is received or amend-
ed.
[Doc. No. FAA–2001–8690, 67 FR 65667, Oct. 25,
2002. Redesignated and amended by Amdt.
136–1, 72 FR 6912, Feb. 13, 2007; Amdt. 136–1, 72
FR 31450, June 7, 2007]
§ 136.39 Air tour management plans
(ATMP).
(a)
Establishment.
The Administrator,
in cooperation with the Director, shall
establish an air tour management plan
for any national park or tribal land for
which such a plan is not in effect when-
ever a person applies for authority to
conduct a commercial air tour oper-
ation over the park. The air tour man-
agement plan shall be developed by
means of a public process in accord-
ance with paragraph (d) of this section.
The objective of any air tour manage-
ment plan is to develop acceptable and
effective measures to mitigate or pre-
vent the significant adverse impacts, if
any, of commercial air tour operations
upon the natural and cultural re-
sources, visitor experiences, and tribal
lands.
(b)
Environmental determination.
In es-
tablishing an air tour management
plan under this section, the Adminis-
trator and the Director shall each sign
the environmental decision document
required by section 102 of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4332) which may include a find-
ing of no significant impact, an envi-
ronmental assessment, or an environ-
mental impact statement and the
record of decision for the air tour man-
agement plan.
(c)
Contents.
An air tour management
plan for a park—
(1) May prohibit commercial air tour
operations in whole or in part;
(2) May establish conditions for the
conduct of commercial air tour oper-
ations, including, but not limited to,
commercial air tour routes, maximum
number of flights per unit of time,
maximum and minimum altitudes,
time of day restrictions, restrictions
for particular events, intrusions on pri-
vacy on tribal lands, and mitigation of
noise, visual, or other impacts;