The Nation : New Rules for Park Flights

The Federal Aviation Administration, reacting to a collision over the Grand Canyon that killed 25 people last June, announced new rules for tourist flights at the national park. John S. Kern, director of the FAA’s office of flight standards, told the House Interior national parks subcommittee that beginning next month canyon tour aircraft would have to use specific flight lanes and avoid “noise-sensitive areas.” Kern said, however, that the restrictions would not ban tourist flights below the canyon rim--a step advocated by key Interior Committee members, environmental groups and William Penn Mott, director of the National Park Service.