Sightseeing Flights Are Safe, Depending On Whom You Ask

This year, an estimated 2 million vacationers will climb aboard small sightseeing planes or helicopters for a closeup view of America’s scenic wonders, among them the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the soaring Na Pali cliffs on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Offering rare and sometimes dangerous perspectives, such flights have become increasingly popular. But how safe are they?

Quite safe, assert the nation’s tour operators, which typically are small companies. But they could be safer, challenges the National Transportation Safety Board, which earlier this year issued a series of recommendations to bolster safety. In the past seven years, the safety board has investigated 139 accidents or incidents involving “flightseeing” tours in which 117 fatalities, 86 serious injuries and 135 minor injuries resulted. The largest number of accidents, 34, occurred in Hawaii, followed by 18 in Florida, 16 in Alaska, 15 in Arizona, nine in California, six in Washington state and five in Colorado.

The safety board’s report is the result of a special investigation prompted by the crash of two sightseeing helicopters in separate incidents on the same day last July in Hawaii. Three people died in one of the accidents. In February, a small twin-engine plane on a tour of the Grand Canyon crashed in the woods two miles from the canyon airport, killing eight of the 10 tourists aboard. And 13 people died last year in two air tour crashes in Juneau and Kodiak, Alaska.

At the safety board meeting, investigators showed videos of air tour helicopters flying at high speeds at dangerously low altitudes and executing turns at extreme angles well beyond what is considered safe for sightseeing operations. The videos are evidence that some irresponsible pilots are playing with passengers’ lives.

The board is also concerned about accidents involving sightseeing balloon and glider flights, vowing to study these operations in the future.

In the wake of the latest helicopter and plane crashes, the board is calling for uniform national standards for pilot training, aircraft maintenance and operating and safety procedures which, if adopted, would bring all U.S. air tour operators up to the same standards as other passenger-carrying aircraft. Currently, some air tour operators flying no more than 25 miles from their home base are governed by less-stringent safety requirements than other tour operators.

Air tours “aren’t thrill rides,” says safety board chairman James E. Hall. “They are serious aviation operations over serious terrain,” and travelers “should be able to know they’re being provided safe passage.”

The air tour industry generally has applauded the board’s findings. Frank L. Jensen Jr., president of Helicopter Association International, called the recommendations “positive. We have the same objectives.”

The bulk of the board’s recommendations will require action by the Federal Aviation Administration, which says it takes the proposals “very seriously.”

Immediately after the two Hawaiian crashes, the FAA issued an emergency rule requiring air tour pilots in Hawaii to maintain a minimum altitude of 1,500 feet above sightseeing attractions, thus giving pilots more altitude from which to glide to a suitable landing spot in the event of mechanical difficulty.

It may be months or years before the NTSB call for universal safety standards for sightseeing flights becomes law, and not every tour operator may adhere to voluntary safety measures.

So how can travelers be assured of a safe flight? Industry spokespersons and federal safety officials offer this advice (much of which is applicable to air tours in other countries):

Find out under what federal safety regulations the air tour firm operates. Some firms flying no more than 25 miles from their home base are governed by what is called Part 91 of federal aviation regulations. In terms of pilot training and maximum duty hours, Part 91 is less stringent than Part 135, under which most tour operators fly. The safety board has proposed that all tours operate under the tougher Part 135 rules.

Ask about pilot qualifications and training. To fly under Part 135 rules, pilots need 500 hours of flight experience.

Check in advance on safety procedures. Will you be given a safety briefing that covers emergency evacuation procedures? Are you instructed to wear a life vest on over-water tours? Does the helicopter have flotation devices for offshore tours?

Ask about the tour company’s safety record. How many accidents has it suffered? If you don’t trust the firm to give you an honest answer, call the nearest Flight Standards District Office of the Federal Aviation Administration. In Hawaii, it is in Honolulu.

Does the firm have stiff policies against in-air horseplay? You don’t want to fly with a hotshot pilot who is trying to put unnecessary thrills into a sightseeing excursion.

Use your common sense. Do the firm’s on-ground staff and operations give you a feeling of security? Are your questions answered politely and thoroughly? Do the premises look as well-maintained as you hope the aircraft are? If the answer isn’t yes, look elsewhere.