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CONGRESSMAN

JERROLD
NADLER

8th Congressional
District of New York

Nadler
Leads Delegation Demanding FAA Impose Major Regulations on NYC Airspace

Sends
letter to FAA Administrator listing specific changes necessary to make airspace
safe

FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: Wednesday, August 12, 2009

CONTACT: Ilan
Kayatsky, 212-367-7350

NEW YORK, N.Y.
– Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the senior member from the
Northeast on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and 14 of his
House colleagues, sent a letter to FAA Administrator Randolph Babbitt
requesting specific regulatory changes which are essential for improving the
safety of New York’s
congested and dangerous airspace.

“Last
Saturday's horrific crash is a
powerful wake-up call to the FAA that we can no longer allow the free-for-all
that currently imperils our local airspace,” said Nadler.  “We
are calling on the FAA to immediately implement major regulations on New York’s
airspace to prevent future tragedy.  At a minimum, the FAA must require
the installation of the Traffic Collision Avoidance System and a Mode C
Transponder on all aircraft that seat less than ten people.  The FAA
should carefully review Saturday’s incident and determine what additional
changes can be made to improve the management of the region’s air
space.  Every helicopter and general aviation aircraft should be required
to file flight plans, even for trips under 1100 feet, and we should seriously
consider banning all flights below 1100 feet until radar systems are available
to track them.”

The text
of today’s letter follows and is attached as a pdf.

August
12, 2009

The Honorable J. Randolph Babbitt

Administrator

Federal Aviation Administration

800 Independence Avenue
SW

Washington,
DC 20591

Dear Administrator Babbitt:

We write to request that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
immediately regulate New York City’s
congested and dangerous airspace.  Saturday's
mid-air crash between a sightseeing helicopter and a small airplane over the
Hudson River is a tragic and powerful reminder of what we have known for some
time – that the virtually non-existent oversight of small on-demand
aircraft must come to an end, particularly in New York’s heavily congested airspace.
The Hudson River flight corridor must not
continue to be the Wild West.  The FAA must act immediately, before
further lives are lost.

It is unfortunate that the FAA insisted to us for years that it lacked
statutory authority to regulate the airspace in the New York City corridor below 1100 feet
altitude.  We are gratified, that yesterday, the FAA reversed its position
and agreed it has statutory authority to regulate this airspace.  It is
tragic that it took nine deaths to produce this belated concession.

Now, the FAA should swiftly use its authority to prevent future
tragedies.

First, the FAA should
take immediate steps to implement the recommendations of the Department of
Transportation Inspector General (DOT IG), the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB), and the FAA Advisory Committee for these types of aircraft
operations.  At a minimum, the FAA must require the installation of the
Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS-II), and a Mode C Transponder, on all
aircraft that seat less than ten people. Any additional common-sense measures
that can be implemented should be done so immediately.

Second, the FAA should
carefully review this incident, along with other factors, and determine what
additional improvements can be made in the near-term and long-term to improve the
management of the region’s air space.  For example, the FAA should
examine the feasibility of moving to a satellite based system for air traffic
management that could provide greater technological capability to manage flight
traffic below 1500 feet. In the meantime, every helicopter and general aviation
aircraft should be required to file flight plans, even for trips under 1100
feet.  In addition, we should seriously consider banning all flights below
1100 feet until radar systems are available to track them.

The Hudson River flight corridor presents unique challenges, but the
danger of unregulated on-demand aircraft is also a widespread problem
in the New York
region and the country. According to the DOT IG, there were 33 accidents
and 109 fatalities involving on-demand aircraft in 2007 and 2008.  And
these types of collisions have been happening for decades.  In 1989,
following a similar accident in Southern California,
Congress passed legislation to accelerate the development of collision
avoidance systems. In 1994, the FAA took action to regulate dangerous
helicopter tours in Hawaii.
 Just this year, the FAA initiated a rulemaking to increase safety
operations of emergency medical service helicopters. 

Despite the decades of incidents, studies, and recommendations, much
work remains to be done.  We call on the FAA to take immediate action to
provide greater oversight of small aircraft operations throughout the country,
the New York region, and in particular, of the
Hudson River flight corridor in New
York.  We stand ready to work with you to
provide the FAA with whatever additional resources might be necessary to
improve the safety of New York’s
congested airspace.

Sincerely,

Jerrold Nadler

Michael McMahon

Timothy Bishop

Albio Sires

John Hall

Nita Lowey

Carolyn Maloney

Paul Tonko

Yvette Clarke

Jose Serrano

Gary Ackerman

Joe Crowley

Donald Payne

Anthony Weiner

Bill Pascrell

###

Jerrold
Nadler has served in Congress since 1992. He represents New
York’s 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.