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.”

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ntsb.gov