Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the senior member from the Northeast on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, demanded that the FAA immediately regulate New York City’s congested and dangerous airspace. At a press conference with other elected officials on the heels of Saturday’s fatal helicopter-airplane crash, Nadler issued the following statement:


“Saturday's terrible crash is a tragic and powerful reminder of what we have known for some time – that New York's airspace is far too congested to be unregulated by the FAA. For many months, I have been calling for regulation of this air space, and, on Saturday, our worst fears were tragically confirmed once again.

“It is unconscionable that the FAA permits unregulated flights in a crowded airspace in a major metropolitan area. And it is ridiculous that private planes and helicopters flying through a crowded area are dependent, while in flight, on visually sighting other aircraft and communicating with them. The real-life repercussions of these non-existent regulations have been disastrous.

“Despite all of this, the FAA has responded to Congress repeatedly that it lacks the legal authority to regulate aircraft below 1,100 feet, although, after several crashes of tourist crafts in Hawaii, it imposed such regulations in 1994.

“We now demand that the FAA stop avoiding its responsibility and hiding behind non-existent legal restrictions.

“We demand that all general aviation aircraft be required to have aboard the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which alerts them when another aircraft is getting too close, and that all general aviation aircraft be required to carry a Mode C Transponder, a device that sends out a constant signal announcing a craft's location.

“In 1989, after a similar collision between a general aviation aircraft and a tourist helicopter in Southern California, Congress passed legislation specifically urging the FAA to require these devices.

“Every helicopter and general aviation aircraft should also be required to file flight plans, even for trips under 1,100 feet. In fact, we should give serious consideration to banning all flights below 1,100 feet until we can install radar systems that can track them.

“We have long asked that the FAA take responsibility for regulating ALL of the airspace near New York City, including that below 1,100 feet of altitude. If the FAA does not do this of its own volition, then Congress will see to it in short order that they are mandated to do so.

“Saturday's tragedy underscores the urgency of this issue. The Hudson River flight corridor must not continue to be the Wild West. The FAA must act immediately, before further lives are lost.”