Bill Would Prohibit Sightseeing And 'Convenience' Flights

New York City-area Congressional representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10)(pictured) , Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12), and Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY-07) have proposed legislation that would prohibit "nonessential" helicopters from flying within New York City airspace.

The Helicopter Safety Act of 2019 would improve residents’ safety and reduce noise pollution and drastically reduce helicopter traffic, according to the bill's sponsors.

"This past June, we were all reminded of the safety threat posed by non-essential helicopters when a pilot attempted to make an emergency landing and crashed into the AXA Equitable Center in my district in Midtown Manhattan. My colleagues and I have called on the FAA numerous times to impose additional regulations that would make New York City airspace safer, but we have yet to see sufficient measures be taken. That is why we have introduced the Improving Helicopter Safety Act of 2019 to finally protect the safety and wellbeing of New Yorkers. The bottom line is, the risks that commuter, charter, and tourism helicopter flights pose to New Yorkers far outweigh the benefit to the very small number of people who use them. There is absolutely no margin for error when you fly over somewhere as densely populated as New York,” said Congresswoman Maloney.

“Since 1980, there have been at least 30 helicopter crashes in New York City, many of which have been fatal,” said Congressman Nadler. “Despite my colleagues and I having called on the FAA numerous times to take simple and prudent action to protect our city, the FAA has refused to sufficiently act. That is why I joined Representatives Maloney and Velázquez in authoring legislation to protect our skies by banning non-essential flights over New York City. There is simply no justification for allowing tourists to joy-ride over our city, endangering lives and creating unnecessary noise pollution.

“Although we have previously called on the Federal Aviation Administration to ban all non-essential helicopter flights over New York City, we must do more,” said Congresswoman Velázquez. “While we all remember the terrible accident in June and others in previous years, safety is not the only concern. Many of my Brooklyn neighbors who live near the water’s edge suffer from incessant noise pollution, due to helicopter flights. That’s why I am proud to join my colleagues in authoring legislation to ban all non-essential flights over New York. Simply, our City is not a good fit for helicopter air traffic and it is time this practice was addressed once and for all.”

The representatives were joined by several state and local politicians and community groups in supporting the legislation.

In a statement Helicopter Association International (HAI) said that it strongly opposes the bill over the concern that measures within the act will have no positive effect on aviation safety over New York City, but will threaten the viability of the helicopter industry.

The perceived threat of commuter, charter and tourism helicopter flights that forms the rationale behind the Proposal relies on data that Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Jerry Nadler and Nydia Velazquez of New York had to reach back nearly four decades to gather. The crashes and resulting fatalities cited in the Proposal, are disingenuously positioned. Statistically, citizens on the ground are in far greater danger of being hit by a bicycle or motor vehicle. In 2018 alone, the New York City Department of Transportation reported 60,652 injuries and 203 fatalities involving motor vehicles. HAI’s top priority is and always has been safety and along with our operators, we continue to work towards a zero-accident goal.

Furthermore, the claim that the FAA “does not have any regulations, policies or procedures to account for New York City’s uniquely crowded airspace” is false. Updated every 56 days, or as needed, the FAA publishes Helicopter Route Charts for several “uniquely crowded” airspaces -including Baltimore-Washington, Los Angeles and New York City- to further enhance operational safety. These charts consider the unique aspects of each operating area and provide guidance on standard routes, specific altitude limitations when appropriate, standard frequencies and mandatory reporting points. The latest Helicopter Route Chart for New York City was updated on April 25, 2019.

The Proposal’s claim that there “is no minimum altitude for helicopters to fly at” and that commuter, charter and tourism flights are “generally not monitored or directed by Air Traffic Control” is only accurate in the most abstract reading of current regulations. To clarify, there are established altitude ranges for aircraft that operate within the New York Class B airspace - Hudson River and East River Exclusion Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA). These ranges allow for separation between transient operations and local operations and allow pilots the discretion to choose the safest altitude for their specific flight operation and environmental conditions.

Additionally, local tour operations over New York City fly established flight routes that standardize pending flight paths, altitudes flown, and frequencies used by all aircraft. Because of these pre-established parameters and limits in New York’s airspace, there is less need for direct interaction by air traffic controllers, although it is available when operations dictate. The proposed “Improving Helicopter Safety Act of 2019” is in fact not an effort to improve the safety of commuter, charter and tourism flights, but rather, an attempt to completely dismantle a thriving industry. Under the Proposal, these flights would cease to exist, and our members would lose their livelihoods.

“With an industry advancing in terms of both urban mobility and unmanned aircraft, these politicians are looking back, not forward,” said Matt Zuccaro, president of HAI. “There is no one more focused on safety than the helicopter pilots and operators themselves. These politicians’ draconian solution to the perceived threat of helicopters is to put an industry out of business. We want to sit down and work in good faith to address the concerns of all stakeholders at the table.” HAI seeks to re-establish the New York City helicopter task force to improve communications and enhance partnerships amongst stakeholders. This task force will include elected officials, community representatives, local operators, regulators, industry professionals and technical safety experts. It is our hope that this taskforce will be able to develop solutions rooted in fact that will continue to safeguard the citizens of New York, the operations of our members and allay the concerns shared by Representatives Maloney, Nadler and Velazquez. In conjunction with our partners at the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, HAI will be hosting a New York Helicopter Operations Symposium on February 19, 2020.

(Source: News releases. Image from file)

FMI: nadler.house.gov
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