The call for action comes on the heels of the deadly crash of the Liberty Tours helicopter and a small private plane that killed nine people on August 8. Although the official cause of the accident remains under investigation, inadequate regulation of the low-altitude flights across the Hudson River and miscommunication between air traffic controllers and pilots have been suggested as plausible causes.
“We cannot let the Hudson River corridor stay the wild west of New York City airspace or the tragic crash earlier this month will be just the beginning,” said Senator Schumer. “The truth is that there is simply not enough regulation for helicopters and planes flying below 1,000 feet and if we don’t take action soon, we will see more tragedies. The skies over the Hudson River are overcrowded and growing more dangerous each year and as we saw just a few weeks ago, not enough is being done to monitor the airspace over the river,” he continued.
The six-point plan proposed by the Senator aims to improve aviation safety over the Hudson River through the following measures:
•Design and implementation of an enhanced helicopter routing system to avoid limitations of the “see and avoid” strategy that is currently in place. Expanding on recent U.S. Congress recommendation to the FAA to increase air safety of medical helicopters, Senator Schumer urged the FAA to include tourism helicopters in the enhanced safety initiative.
•Development of heightened regulations to monitor helicopter and airplane flights below 1,000 feet. As comprehensive processes for regulating low-altitude flights are currently lacking, with some flights not being detected by the air traffic control towers, the senator called on the FAA to require filing of flight plans for all aircraft.
•Prompt implementation by the FAA of the outstanding tourism-related recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board, including upgraded pilot training, refined maintenance policies and procedures, and comprehensive specifications of routes, altitude restrictions and adequate rest times for pilots.
•Increased staffing at control towers across New York City airports and the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to allow for detailed monitoring of the low-flying airplanes and helicopters.
•Technological advancements for better differentiation of alerts at control towers. Senator Schumer proposed that the volume of the alarm should be proportional to the distance of the two aircrafts, with a louder signal alerting the air traffic controllers that aircrafts are in closer proximity.
•Implementation of the FAA reauthorizing legislation by the U.S, Congress. The proposed legislation includes funding and deployment of the NexGen technology that is designed to streamline air traffic controller operations, such as transfers between control towers and airports.
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