One Pols 'Reasonable' Is One Industry's Insanity

News/Analysis By Jim Campbell, ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief

With all of the ills that California politicians must address these days... crime, education, deficits, immigration, taxes, a very anti-business climate (and the attendant loss of those businesses to other states); you'd think that the average CA groundhog legislator would have better things to do than to attack an industry that provides transport, emergency medical attention, law enforcement services, traffic watch, even a few recreational pursuits (and so much more) -- but then again, this is California we're talking about -- where political/social engineering isn't supposed to make good sense so long as it gets you 20 egocentric seconds on the Six O'Clock news. 

And now, the pols are piling on, the HAI reports that, "Senators Feinstein (D) and Boxer (D) of California introduced a companion bill (S.2019) in the Senate to the bill introduced by Congressman Howard Berman (D-Calif.) in July (H.R. 2677)." Both bills, titled the “Los Angeles Residential Helicopter Noise Relief Act of 2011,” would require the FAA administrator to issue regulations in Los Angeles County regarding the altitudes and flight paths of helicopters in order to reduce noise pollution.

Berman has told local media that, "My bill simply authorizes the FAA to create sensible regulations, regulating helicopter traffic in Los Angeles County for purposes of both noise reduction and safety.”

So... state legislators with little or no aviation background want to dictate aviation policy to the FAA... The House bill would require these regulations to be issued no later than one year following the passage of the bill, while the Senate bill would require regulations be issued no later than three years after enactment. In addition, the Senate bill has language requiring the FAA to make “reasonable efforts to consult with local communities and local helicopter operators in order to develop regulations that meet the needs of local communities, helicopter operators, and the Federal Aviation Administration.”

Southern California has some VERY complex airspace... and having to deal with flying a helo, the mission requirements for the flight, the regs and the airspace, et al, is more than enough to deal with before having to add the complexity of whether or not someone might be able to discern your noise signature over the hundreds of other noisy distractions that plague this state... especially in highway-strewn SoCal. Regs like this will hurt the ability of the helo community to respond to the need for rotor-wing services... especially those emergency services that have tough enough missions, already.

We'll continue to keep an eye on this... but this is but one reason that ANN was not located in California and avoids this state like the plague.

FMI: www.rotor.com