Federal, state and county lawmakers are pushing back against a ruling issued by the Federal Aviation Administration Wednesday that it won’t restrict helicopter air tours in Hawaii, at least for now.

A growing group of local lawmakers had hoped that the FAA would consider banning all tour helicopter flights in the wake of a tragic crash that killed the pilot of a Novictor Robinson R44 and both passengers when it went down in a densely- populate Kailua neighborhood on April 29.

The next day, U.S. Rep. Ed Case asked the FAA to consider banning all tour helicopter flights in Hawaii until the investigation into that crash concludes. Case’s request was prompted by the urging of other county and state lawmakers, especially Hawaii state Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua- Kaneohe Bay), who also wants the FAA to consider flight restrictions over residential neighborhoods.

FAA Regional Administrator Raquel Girvin responded to Case’s request May 8 in a letter saying “we have not at this time developed any information that would warrant taking action that affects all air tour operators or the operator involved in the April 29 accident. That said, it’s important to note that we can and we do take immediate action if the information that we and our partners develop during investigation warrants doing so.”

Case told Girvin that her letter and a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report issued Thursday “provide no specific reasons or support for your conclusion that no action is currently warranted to protect public safety.”

Honolulu City Council Chairman Ikaika Anderson said Friday that the FAA’s response to Case was “shameful.”

At Anderson’s urging, the Honolulu City Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday calling on the FAA to temporarily ground all Robinson R44 helicopters from flying over or on Oahu until a crash investigation is completed and the “airworthiness of the Robinson R44 helicopters is assured.”

It further calls on the federal agency to restrict all commercial tour helicopter operations “in the airspace above densely populated residential on Oahu to the extent possible.”

Rep. Chris Lee (D, Kailua- Waimanalo), Sen. Gil Riviere (D, Kaneohe-Waialua- Haleiwa-Wahiawa-Kunia) and Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kailua-Heeia-Ahuimanu) said Friday that they hope the FAA will reopen a dialogue with Hawaii lawmakers.

“We support our federal delegations’ efforts to get the FAA to address the situation. In the meantime, in case that doesn’t pan out we are also working on state and local remedies,” Lee said. “There may be some regulatory options on the tax side.”

Riviere said he wants to work on getting the guidelines updated for passenger carrier helicopters, which he said fly “too low, too close to homes and are too noisy.”

Keohokalole said the pressure must stay on the FAA to reverse its decision. In the meantime, he has contacted the DOT and plans to approach the tour helicopter association to explore other regulatory options.

Calvin Dorn, CEO of Paradise Helicopters, called the FAA’s decision a “good call,” and said he doesn’t support further regulation in Hawaii where tour helicopters already must follow stringent flying rules.

“Oahu’s had more than 20 pedestrian accidents this year. Does that mean we should ban walking? It’s kind of an overreach to have one fatal accident and say everything is not safe,” he said.

Star-Advertiser reporter Gordon Pang contributed to this story.