Air Tour Organization sues FAA over Rocky Mountain flight ban.WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 1997--The United States Air Tour Association (USATA USATA United States Army TMDE Activity ), which represents air tour operators in the U.S., has filed a lawsuit in the United States Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system. A court of appeals decides appeals from the district courts within its federal judicial circuit, and in some instances from other in Washington, D.C. to block a ban on air tours over the Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park National park, north-central Colorado, U.S. Established in 1915 and enclosing part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, the park has an area of 262,191 acres (106,105 hectares). . The legal action is filed against the Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control (FAA) and Acting Administrator Linda Daschle. The FAA announced the ban last week. There currently are no air tours being conducted at RMNP. "The FAA has acted illegally in imposing a ban on non-existent air tours while saying that general and commercial aviation cause no noise problem and can continue flying over the Park," said USATA President Dan Anderson. "The FAA has no factual evidence to support its decision that air tours should be prohibited," he added. According to E. Donald Elliot, former general counsel for the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and (EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. ) and lead attorney in the court challenge whose firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker will represent the air tour organization, "The FAA ban on air tours where there are none is arbitrary and excessive and establishes a dangerous precedent that air tours can simply be excluded without any evidence of adverse impacts." Elliot added, "We are confident the court challenge will reject FAA's `exclude first' approach and set aside this unwarranted ban on air tours that do not exist." A coalition of air tour operators who serve the Grand Canyon -- all members of USATA -- recently filed another legal action against the FAA to block implementation of new and highly restrictive rules on air tour flights at the Canyon. CONTACT: USATA Dan Anderson, 703/683-6222 or Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP Michael A. Wiegard, 202/508-9543 or Bassett Communications Steve or Judy Bassett, 301/596-9538 |
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