Bill Text: NJ AR55 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Federal Aviation Administration to strengthen safety regulation and oversight of hot air balloon tour operators.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee [AR55 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-AR55-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT D. CLIFTON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Federal Aviation Administration to strengthen safety regulation and oversight of hot air balloon tour operators.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution urging the Federal Aviation Administration to strengthen safety regulation and oversight of hot air balloon tour operators.
Whereas, On July 30, 2016, a hot air balloon crashed just south of Austin, Texas, killing 16 people, making it the deadliest hot air balloon tour accident in the history of the United States; and
Whereas, This accident called into question the safety precautions and training undertaken by the pilot; and
Whereas, Since 1964, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigated more than 780 hot air balloon accidents in the United States; and
Whereas, The NTSB has determined that operational deficiencies in commercial hot air balloon tour operations, such as operating in unfavorable wind conditions and failure to follow flight manual procedures, resulted in several of the hot air balloon tour accidents over the past decade; and
Whereas, In 2014, the NTSB issued two safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to strengthen oversight of hot air balloon tour operators, which are to amend the Code of Federal Regulations to require hot air balloon tour operators to obtain and maintain a letter of authorization (LOA) to conduct tour flights (A-14-011) and to revise FAA standards to encourage inspectors to include in their general surveillance activities hot air balloon tour operators that hold LOAs, especially upon initial issuance of the letter and then as necessary, particularly if the operator is involved in an accident (A-14-012); and
Whereas, Unlike airplane and helicopter tour operators, the Code of Federal Regulations exempts hot air balloon tour operators from FAA certification requirements and requirements that hot air balloon tour operators receive and maintain an LOA outlining operational limitations and provisions from the FAA flight standards district office nearest to the operator's principle place of business; and
Whereas, The NTSB anticipates that if, at minimum, hot air balloon tour operators were required by the FAA to maintain an LOA, it would subject those operators to certain regulation by the FAA, which would include penalties for not following certain FAA guidelines, such as verification that hot air balloon pilots undergo competency evaluations, that properly certificated and properly maintained equipment is used, and that passengers receive proper safety instructions before a flight; and
Whereas, A hot air balloon can carry more than 20 passengers, increasing the potential for numerous fatalities in any one accident; and
Whereas, It is all together fitting and proper for this House, and in the public interest, to urge the FAA to strengthen hot air balloon tour operator regulation and oversight to ensure passengers have the same benefit of safety oversight as passengers of airplane and helicopter tour operations; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House urges the Federal Aviation Administration to strengthen safety regulation and oversight of hot air balloon tour operators so that passengers have the same benefit of safety oversight as passengers of airplane and helicopter tour operations.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of the United States, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and each member of the United States Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This Assembly resolution urges the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to strengthen safety regulation and oversight of hot air balloon tour operators.
On July 30, 2016, a hot air balloon crashed just south of Austin, Texas, killing 16 people, making it the deadliest hot air balloon tour accident in the history of the United States. The crash called into question the safety precautions and training undertaken by the pilot.
Since 1964, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigated approximately 780 hot air balloon accidents in the United States. The NTSB has determined that operational deficiencies in commercial hot air balloon tour operations, such as operating in unfavorable wind conditions and failure to follow flight manual procedures, resulted in several of the hot air balloon tour accidents over the past decade.
In 2014, the NTSB issued two safety recommendations to the FAA to strengthen oversight of hot air balloon tour operators, which are to amend the Code of Federal Regulations to require hot air balloon tour operators to obtain and maintain a letter of authorization (LOA) to conduct tour flights (A-14-011) and to revise FAA standards to encourage inspectors to include in their general surveillance activities hot air balloon tour operators that hold LOAs, especially upon initial issuance of the letter and then as necessary, particularly if the operator is involved in an accident (A-14-012) Unlike airplane and helicopter tour operators, the Code of Federal Regulations exempts hot air balloon tour operators from FAA certification requirements and requirements that hot air balloon tour operators receive and maintain an LOA outlining operational limitations and provisions from the FAA flight standards district office nearest to the operator's principle place of business. The NTSB anticipates that if, at minimum, hot air balloon tour operators were required by the FAA to maintain an LOA, it would subject those operators to certain regulation by the FAA, which would include penalties for not following certain FAA guidelines, such as verification that hot air balloon pilots undergo competency evaluations, that properly certificated and properly maintained equipment is used, and that passengers receive proper safety instructions before a flight.
A hot air balloon can carry more than 20 passengers, increasing the potential for numerous fatalities in any one accident.
Because of the increased risk to passengers, the FAA is urged to strengthen safety regulation and oversight of hot air balloon tour operators to ensure passengers have the same benefit of safety oversight as passengers of airplane and helicopter tour operations.
