Mon, Aug 31, 2009
He Calls Air Traffic Regs In New York City "A Mess"
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) said in a news conference
Sunday that the FAA should monitor every flight in New York
airspace, in an effort to avoid another tragedy like the mid-air
collision August 8th between a sightseeing helicopter and a Piper
PA-32. Nine people were killed in the collision over the
Hudson River.
U.S. Senator Schumer
“The recommendations made by the NTSB and other agencies
aren’t strong enough and don’t go far enough to ensure
the Hudson River corridor is secure and safe to fly,” Mr.
Schumer said. “The regulations that govern flights over the
Hudson River and other parts of New York City are a mess. There are
countless handoffs, gaps and holes in the regulatory authority, and
that only leads to trouble.”
Schumer said the FAA should positively control all flights below
1,000 feet, and that all pilots should be required to file flight
plans in the Hudson River corridor. The New York Times reports that
he also called on the FAA to quickly adopt an NTSB recommendation
for a flight training program for sightseeing helicopter pilots, as
well as fully staffing control towers in the region. He said
technology "available elsewhere in the world" should be installed
at Teterboro and other regional airports to assist in the handoff
procedure, and called for enhancing the collision avoidance systems
available to controllers.
FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said the Administration would
review Senator Schumer's recommendations, but "I cannot say
anything directly about his recommendations until we come out with
our findings.”
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