NYC restricts some helicopter flights after fatal crash
Following the recent fatal accident, New York City is cracking down with new limits on the tourist helicopter industry.
A new bill doesn’t specifically deal with the safety issues of aerial sightseeing flights.
“The intent of the bill is strictly on what the New York City Council and New York City itself as a government can regulate, which is the noise levels,” said City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías.
“The most outdated, loudest and dirtiest helicopters will no longer be allowed to fly out of our Downtown Manhattan heliport or East 34th Street Heliport starting in 2029 and in the years leading up to enforcement,” Farias said.
As many as 9.000 helicopter flights take off in and around New York City daily.
New Yorkers have complained about the noise for many years, and while some noise abatement measures have been taken, the problem persists.
The City Council passed new regulations applying the FAA’s strictest noise standards for helicopter flights that take off and land at heliports owned by the city.
The bill was actually introduced three years ago in response to noise complaints.
It is now effective following the helicopter crash into the Hudson River earlier this month which killed five tourists from Spain and the pilot.
“In response to the accident, many of us are also looking at how do we regulate the safety measures that have to be put in place,” Farias added.
One firm, Vertical Aviation International, slammed the law, saying the whole industry is being punished after a tragic accident.
It called it an ‘extreme political assault’ on the helicopter tourism industry.
Lawmakers have lobbied for years to restrict helicopter flightpaths over residential areas without much success.
Congresswoman Nicole Maliotakis, said: “We would like to see if we can come to a resolution where they’re restricted from operating above residential communities.”
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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