557
Federal Aviation Administration, DOT
§ 136.41
(3) Shall apply to all commercial air
tour operations within
1
⁄
2
mile outside
the boundary of a national park;
(4) Shall include incentives (such as
preferred commercial air tour routes
and altitudes, and relief from caps and
curfews) for the adoption of quiet tech-
nology aircraft by commercial air tour
operators conducting commercial air
tour operations at the park;
(5) Shall provide for the initial allo-
cation of opportunities to conduct
commercial air tour operations if the
plan includes a limitation on the num-
ber of commercial air tour operations
for any time period; and
(6) Shall justify and document the
need for measures taken pursuant to
paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(5) of this
section and include such justification
in the record of decision.
(d)
Procedure.
In establishing an
ATMP for a national park or tribal
lands, the Administrator and Director
shall—
(1) Hold at least one public meeting
with interested parties to develop the
air tour management plan;
(2) Publish the proposed plan in the
F
EDERAL
R
EGISTER
for notice and com-
ment and make copies of the proposed
plan available to the public;
(3) Comply with the regulations set
forth in 40 CFR 1501.3 and 1501.5
through 1501.8 (for the purposes of com-
plying with 40 CFR 1501.3 and 1501.5
through 1501.8, the Federal Aviation
Administration is the lead agency and
the National Park Service is a cooper-
ating agency); and
(4) Solicit the participation of any
Indian tribe whose tribal lands are, or
may be, overflown by aircraft involved
in a commercial air tour operation
over the park or tribal lands to which
the plan applies, as a cooperating agen-
cy under the regulations referred to in
paragraph (d)(3) of this section.
(e)
Amendments.
The Administrator,
in cooperation with the Director, may
make amendments to an air tour man-
agement plan. Any such amendments
will be published in the F
EDERAL
R
EG
-
ISTER
for notice and comment. A re-
quest for amendment of an ATMP will
be made in accordance with § 11.25 of
this chapter as a petition for rule-
making.
[Doc. No. FAA–2001–8690, 67 FR 65667, Oct. 25,
2002. Redesignated by Amdt. 136–1, 72 FR
6912, Feb. 13, 2007]
§ 136.41 Interim operating authority.
(a)
General.
Upon application for op-
erating authority, the Administrator
shall grant interim operating author-
ity under this section to a commercial
air tour operator for commercial air
tour operations over a national park or
tribal land for which the operator is an
existing commercial air tour operator.
(b)
Requirements and limitations.
In-
terim operating authority granted
under this section—
(1) Shall provide annual authoriza-
tion only for the greater of—
(i) The number of flights used by the
operator to provide the commercial air
tour operations within the 12-month
period prior to April 5, 2000; or
(ii) The average number of flights per
12-month period used by the operator
to provide such operations within the
36-month period prior to April 5, 2000,
and for seasonal operations, the num-
ber of flights so used during the season
or seasons covered by that 12-month
period;
(2) May not provide for an increase in
the number of commercial air tour op-
erations conducted during any time pe-
riod by the commercial air tour oper-
ator above the number the air tour op-
erator was originally granted unless
such an increase is agreed to by the
Administrator and the Director;
(3) Shall be published in the F
EDERAL
R
EGISTER
to provide notice and oppor-
tunity for comment;
(4) May be revoked by the Adminis-
trator for cause;
(5) Shall terminate 180 days after the
date on which an air tour management
plan is established for the park and
tribal lands;
(6) Shall promote protection of na-
tional park resources, visitor experi-
ences, and tribal lands;
(7) Shall promote safe commercial air
tour operations;
(8) Shall promote the adoption of
quiet technology, as appropriate, and
(9) Shall allow for modifications of
the interim operating authority based
558
14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition)
§§ 136.43–136.49
on experience if the modification im-
proves protection of national park re-
sources and values and of tribal lands.
(c)
New entrant operators.
The Admin-
istrator, in cooperation with the Direc-
tor, may grant interim operating au-
thority under this paragraph (c) to an
air tour operator for a national park or
tribal lands for which that operator is
a new entrant air tour operator if the
Administrator determines the author-
ity is necessary to ensure competition
in the provision of commercial air tour
operations over the park or tribal
lands.
(1)
Limitation.
The Administrator
may not grant interim operating au-
thority under this paragraph (c) if the
Administrator determines that it
would create a safety problem at the
park or on the tribal lands, or if the Di-
rector determines that it would create
a noise problem at the park or on the
tribal lands.
(2)
ATMP limitation.
The Adminis-
trator may grant interim operating au-
thority under this paragraph (c) only if
the ATMP for the park or tribal lands
to which the application relates has
not been developed within 24 months
after April 5, 2000.
[Doc. No. FAA–2001–8690, 67 FR 65667, Oct. 25,
2002. Redesignated by Amdt. 136–1, 72 FR
6912, Feb. 13, 2007]
§§ 136.43–136.49 [Reserved]
Subpart C—Grand Canyon
National Park
§§ 136.51–136.69 [Reserved]
Subpart D—Special Operating
Rules for Air Tour Operators in
the State of Hawaii
S
OURCE
: Docket No. FAA–2022–1563; Amdt.
No. 136–2, 88 FR 48092, July 26, 2023, unless
otherwise noted.
§ 136.71 Applicability.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b) of this section, this subpart pre-
scribes operating rules for air tour
flights conducted in airplanes, pow-
ered-lift, or rotorcraft under visual
flight rules in the State of Hawaii pur-
suant to parts 91, 121, and 135 of this
chapter.
(b) This subpart does not apply to:
(1) Operations conducted under part
121 of this chapter in airplanes with a
passenger seating configuration of
more than 30 seats or a payload capac-
ity of more than 7,500 pounds.
(2) Flights conducted in gliders or
hot air balloons.
§ 136.73 Definitions.
For the purposes of this subpart:
Air tour
means any sightseeing flight
conducted under visual flight rules in
an airplane, powered-lift, or rotorcraft
for compensation or hire.
Air tour operator
means any person
who conducts an air tour.
§ 136.75 Equipment and requirements.
(a)
Flotation equipment.
No person
may conduct an air tour in Hawaii in a
rotorcraft beyond the shore of any is-
land, regardless of whether the rotor-
craft is within gliding distance of the
shore, unless:
(1) The rotorcraft is amphibious or is
equipped with floats adequate to ac-
complish a safe emergency ditching
and approved flotation gear is easily
accessible for each occupant; or
(2) Each person on board the rotor-
craft is wearing approved flotation
gear.
(b)
Performance plan.
Each operator
must complete a performance plan that
meets the requirements of this para-
graph (b) before each air tour flight
conducted in a rotorcraft.
(1) The performance plan must be
based on information from the current
approved aircraft flight manual for
that aircraft, considering the max-
imum density altitude for which the
operation is planned to determine the
following:
(i) Maximum gross weight and center
of gravity (CG) limitations for hov-
ering in ground effect;
(ii) Maximum gross weight and CG
limitations for hovering out of ground
effect; and
(iii) Maximum combination of
weight, altitude, and temperature for
which height-velocity information
from the performance data is valid.
(2) The pilot in command (PIC) must
comply with the performance plan.
(c)
Operating limitations.
Except for
approach to and transition from a