,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cifg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #af1 #bjbj,mr4 ,schatz 7for himself and ,ms4 ,hirono7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to reform ,federal ,aviation ,administration safety requirements for commercial air tour operators1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,air ,tour and ,skydiving ,safety ,improvement ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,administrator ,the term ,administrator means the ,administrator of the ,federal ,aviation ,administration4 7#b7 ,air carrier ,the term air carrier has the meaning given that term in section #djajb of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,commercial operator ,the term commercial operator has the meaning given that term in section #a4a4 of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 7#d7 ,commercial air tour operator ,the term commercial air tour operator has the meaning given that term for purposes of part #acf of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 7#e7 ,parachute operation ,the term parachute operation has the meaning given that term for purposes of part #aje and section #aai4a7;e77#f7 of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 #c4 ,safety requirements for commercial air tour operators 7a7 ,safety reforms ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator shall issue new or revised regulations that provide the following3 7#a7 ,part #aba or #ace certificate required ,the regulations shall provide that-- 7,a7 only persons who hold a certificate identifying the person as an air carrier or commercial operator1 or both1 under part #aai of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 and who conduct all commercial air tour operations under the applicable provisions of part #aba or part #ace of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 shall be permitted to conduct business as a commercial air tour operator2 and 7,b7 beginning on the date that is #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 no person shall be permitted to conduct business as a commercial air tour operator under a certificate issued in accordance with the exceptions specified in section #aai4a7;e77#b7 of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 7#b7 ,additional safety requirements ,the regulations also shall-- 7,a7 eliminate and repeal all exceptions currently provided for under section #aai4a7;e77#b7 of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations2 7,b7 require all commercial air tour operators to establish safety management system programs1 including by-- 7i7 requiring all commercial air tour operators to install crash-resistant flight data recording devices capable of supporting the requirements of the ,flight ,operational ,quality ,assurance ,program2 7ii7 establishing and implementing a performance-based standard for remote flight data monitoring for all commercial air tour operators2 and 7iii7 requiring all commercial air tour operators to establish a structured flight data monitoring program that reviews all available data sources to identify deviations from established norms and procedures and other potential safety issues2 7,c7 require all commercial air tour operators to incorporate a controlled flight into terrain 7,,cfit7 avoidance training program that addresses reducing the risk of ,,cfit accidents involving continuation of flight under visual flight rules 7,,vfr7 into instrument meteorological conditions1 with special attention paid to human factors issues1 including1 but not limited to-- 7i7 the specific terrain1 weather1 and infrastructure challenges relevant to the operational environment2 and 7ii7 operational influence on pilot decision making relevant to the operational environment2 7,d7 require the implementation of methods to provide effective terrain awareness and warning system 7,,taws7 protections while mitigating nuisance alerts for single-engine airplanes operated under part #ace of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 that frequently operate at altitudes below their respective ,,taws class design alerting threshold2 and 7,e7 require the development and implementation of a single set of national standards and operations specifications under part #ace of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or any successor regulations7 applicable to all commercial air tour operators conducting flights in powered airplanes or rotorcraft4 #d4 ,improving ,,dot responses to safety recommendations 7a7 ,in general ,section #aace of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7b71 by adding at the end the following new sentence3 ,each response under paragraph 7#b7 or 7#c7 of subsection 7a7 shall include a detailed explanation of how the ,secretary's proposed action will meet or exceed the improvement to transportation safety recommended by the ,board that was not adopted or refused42 7#b7 in subsection 7d7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking air carrier operations conducted under part #aba and inserting operations conducted under part #aba or #ace2 and 7,b7 in paragraph 7#c77;,b7-- 7i7 in clause 7i71 by striking and after the semicolon2 7ii7 in clause 7ii71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7iii7 by adding at the end the following3 7iii7 with respect to any recommendation in the preceding year which the ,board has deemed the action of the ,secretary as ,unacceptable1 a detailed explanation of how the ,secretary's action will meet or exceed the improvement to transportation safety recommended by the ,board4 2 and 7#c7 in subsection 7e77#b71 by adding at the end the following new sentence3 ,if on ,june #a of each year the ,board has not received the ,secretary's report required by this subsection1 the ,secretary shall be prohibited from issuing new certifications under part #aba or part #ace of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or any successor regulations7 until the report for such year is received by the ,board44 7b7 ,effective date2 applicability 7#a7 ,in general ,the amendments made by subsection 7a7 take effect on the date of enactment of this ,act4 7#b7 ,,dot commercial aviation safety recommendations reports ,the amendments made by paragraph 7#b7 of subsection 7a7 shall apply to reports required under section #aace7;d7 of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 for-- 7,a7 the calendar year immediately preceding the calendar year in which this ,act is enacted2 7,b7 the calendar year in which this ,act is enacted2 and 7,c7 each calendar year thereafter4 #e4 ,removal of regulatory barriers to safety ,any rules or regulation promulgated by the ,secretary of ,transportation in response to a safety recommendation made by the ,national ,transportation ,safety ,board-- 7#a7 shall not be considered a regulation or rule under ,executive ,order #acgga 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 #fja note2 relating to reducing regulation and controlling regulatory costs72 7#b7 shall not be subject to the requirements set forth in that ,executive order2 and 7#c7 shall be exempt from any other ,executive order or action that prohibits the evaluation and incorporation of benefit as well as cost in accessing the worthiness of a proposed rule or regulation4 #f4 ,safety requirements for sport parachute operations ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator shall-- 7#a7 issue new or revised regulations governing parachute operations conducted in the ,united ,states that are subject to the requirements of part #aje and section #aai4a7;e77#f7 of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 so as to require that such operations develop and implement-- 7,a7 ,federal ,aviation ,administration-approved aircraft maintenance and inspection programs that include1 at a minimum1 requirements for compliance with engine manufacturers' recommended maintenance instructions1 such as service bulletins and service information letters for time between overhauls and component life limits2 7,b7 initial and annual recurrent pilot training programs that address1 at a minimum1 operation-specific and aircraft-specific weight and balance calculations1 preflight inspections1 emergency and recovery procedures1 and parachutist egress procedures for each type of aircraft flown2 and 7,c7 initial and annual recurrent pilot testing programs for parachute operations pilots that address1 at a minimum1 operation-specific and aircraft-specific weight and balance calculations1 preflight inspections1 emergency and recovery procedures1 and parachutist egress procedures for each type of aircraft flown1 as well as competency flight checks to determine pilot competence in practical skills and techniques in each type of aircraft2 and 7#b7 revise the guidance materials contained in ,advisory ,circular #aje #b;,c 7relating to sport parachute jumping71 to include guidance for parachute operations in implementing the training and testing programs required under the new and revised regulations issued in accordance with paragraph 7#a74