National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy expressed concern about the need to close “loopholes” for certain revenue passenger-carrying operations such as sightseeing or commercial air tour flights. Testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week during a hearing on FAA reauthorization, Homendy said the Safety Board “is particularly concerned about the safety of various revenue passenger-carrying operations that are conducted under Part 91.”
She cited as examples certain nonstop commercial air tours, sightseeing flights conducted in helicopters and hot air balloons, parachute jump flights, flight history experience sightseeing flights, glider sightseeing flights, air combat/extreme aerobatic experience flights, and tour flights conducted under the premise of student instruction or training flights.
“These operations, which carry thousands of paying passengers each year, are not held to the same maintenance, airworthiness, and operational standards as air carrier, commuter, and on-demand operation,” she said in her testimony, adding that people who pay to participate in these activities may not be aware the operator is held to less stringent safety requirements than other commercial operations.
The NTSB has recommended increased safety requirements and more comprehensive oversight of these operations. Specifically, the Safety Board believes there needs to be an appropriate framework for these types of revenue passenger-carrying flights conducted under Part 91 and she expressed concern that, currently, operating certificates, operation specifications, FAA-accepted operations manuals, approved training programs, and approved maintenance programs are not required.
She further called for safety management systems (SMS). The SMS proposal released in January was a welcome step forward, but Homendy told lawmakers that the NTSB is concerned that it was limited to only air tours under Part 91 rather than all passenger-carrying operations.