Hageman introduces bill to protect off-airport landings
Rep. Harriet Hageman in March introduced a bill that seeks to enhance protections for pilots attempting off-airport landings.
House Resolution 7660, the Backcountry Aviation Protection Act, provides protection for certified pilots performing established training and FAA-recommended safety maneuvers to prepare for off-airport landings, according to a press release from Hageman’s office.
The legislation would allow FAA regulations to allow qualified pilots conduct go-arounds, inspection passes and practice approaches.
“Bush flying is a well-established industry that is vital to isolated communities across the American West, and bush pilots are responsible for safely operating their aircraft to protect their passengers and plane,” Rep. Hageman in a press release. “This bill prevents pilots from being penalized for ensuring the safety of their aircraft and passengers and corrects the FAA’s absurd regulatory overreach that far exceeds the intent of current law.”
A mirror bill was proposed in the Senate in July by Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), but the bill is currently in committee.
The bill is a response to an FAA enforcement over a 2019 case out of Reno, Nevada, which suspended the license of a pilot who made an inspection pass over a 10-acre property of a friend in hopes of landing but ultimately chose to land at another location after determining it was not safe to land.
The FAA recommends that pilots landing “off airport” make at least one low pass to inspect the landing zone for potential obstructions and conditions, but FAA regulations only allow pilots to break minimum altitude restrictions for takeoff or landing, leaving pilots who abort landings for safety reasons at risk of legal enforcement action.
Local Wyoming pilot Scott Gordon says the current regulations are too vague and the current backcountry regulations are the same as any other airspace.
The decision from the Reno case found that the pilot was landing in an inappropriate location and that the pilot was too close to homes.
FAA regulations don’t allow for planes within 500 feet of persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures, except for when landing.
Wyoming pilot Gordon says that the ability to land off-airport would have deep implications for Wyoming, which sees a lot of off-airport operations.
Groups that depend on off-airport operations include ranchers, mission pilots, and airstrip communities.
Airstrip communities are neighborhoods designed around an airstrip and homes are sometimes connected to a hangar with privately owned airplanes — Wyoming is home to a handful of these communities.
The ability to make inspection passes is also important.
Gordon told the Star-Tribune that inspection passes are always made when landing off airport and that it is “common to find another airstrip” if the initial landing site is not landable.
Some landing sites in Wyoming can have too much snow on the ground or be too muddy to safely land.
The bill introduced by Hageman was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.