Panel OKs Bill to Set Air Safety Rules Over Grand Canyon

WASHINGTON —  A House subcommittee approved legislation today to force the Reagan Admin-istration to set rules promptly for tourist flights over the Grand Canyon, where 25 people died in a collision June 18.

The proposal would give the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration 90 days after the bill’s enactment to publish regulations covering both aircraft safety and the noise they create over the national park in Arizona.

The bill, endorsed by the Interior Committee’s national parks subcommittee, specifically requires that tourist flights be banned below the rim of the canyon. The collision of a helicopter and a fixed-wing airplane last week occurred below the rim.

The proposal also gives the park service three years to generally study the effect of tourist flights on aesthetics and safety at national parks and monuments.