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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 

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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