FAA Seeks Ban on Flights Below Grand Canyon Rim

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed today banning all flights below the rim of the Grand Canyon where a fiery collision of an airplane and a helicopter killed 25 people earlier this year.

The agency announced it is proposing a special regulation to prohibit all sightseeing flights below the canyon’s rim level. All other aircraft would be required to stay at least 2,000 feet above the rim.

A Dec. 16 hearing was scheduled on the proposal in Las Vegas. An FAA spokesman said that the agency wants to move quickly and that the rule could go into effect as early as March 1.

“The impact of this regulation would be to ban flights below the rim level,” the spokesman said.

Twenty-five people were killed June 18 when a sightseeing helicopter and an airplane collided 6,500 feet above the Arizona canyon. According to documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board, the collision occurred just below the canyon’s north rim but above the southern rim.

In all, 55 people have been killed in aircraft accidents at or near the popular tourist spot during the past 10 years.

Environmentalist and safety experts for years have urged a ban on all flights below the canyon’s lowest rim.

The FAA currently has only an advisory to pilots--but no formal prohibition--asking them to refrain from flying below the rim.

Under the proposed rule, pilots would also be required to monitor radio frequencies so they could be warned of hazards. Most pilots already do this voluntarily.

The FAA said there are an estimated 90,000 flights annually over the canyon with altitude low enough that the aircraft can be seen and heard by visitors. Between 300,000 and 400,000 tourists take sightseeing flights each year.

The special regulation banning flights below the canyon rim would expire June 15, but the FAA said it is formulating an accompanying rule that would make this prohibition permanent.