New York Business Aviation at Risk from Restrictive "Noise Pollution" Regulations

The National Business Aviation Association has issued a call to action urging members of the New York state business aviation community to write to Governor Kathy Hochul to urge against the signature of Senate Bill S7493A. 

The proposed law would allow anyone to sue a pilot, flight department, line service personnel, or company employee operating in the state for any alleged helicopter "noise pollution", regardless of whether or not the operation complied with Federal Regulations. The "Stop the Chop" act passed the NY state assembly last June, and the NBAA has been hard at work with local stakeholders to oppose the legislation, arguing that the bill in its current form is overbroad in its scope and will lead to tremendous second-order effects for the state's aviation industry. 

The group sent a letter to the New York governor, with signatories from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, Helicopter Association International, New York Aviation Management Association and the National Air Transportation Association.

“As written," it says, "the act operates as an access restriction at the West 30th Street heliport. But that is prohibited by the federal law governing the implementation of noise and access restrictions, the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990." 

Or particular fear is the creation of a right of action for, as the bill says, "any person" who has suffered from an "unreasonable level" of noise attributed to rotary aircraft. Should anyone feel subjectively that they fall under that definition, they have free reign to sue "any person who has caused or contributed" to the use of the "unreasonable" activity. Should the provision be signed into law, there's no surprise it will lead to an aviation lawsuit bonanza. 

“In New York, the general aviation industry is responsible for 43,200 jobs and more than $8.6 billion in total economic output,” reads NBAA’s call to action. “The governor must hear from the general aviation community that this legislation will be detrimental to business aviation across the state of New York.”

“There are a lot of unknowns in this legislation, and it is so vaguely worded that there [are] many avenues in which litigation could be taken,” added Brittany Davies, NBAA Northeast regional director. “So we are urging our members to visit the Grassroots Action Center on the NBAA website and write the governor asking her not to sign this legislation into law.”

FMI: www.nbaa.org