Latest news with #helicopterban
CBS News
04-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Hoboken, N.J., plans to sue FAA over non-essential helicopter activity after deadly Hudson River crash
Hoboken wants non-essential helicopters banned from flying over city, mayor says Hoboken wants non-essential helicopters banned from flying over city, mayor says Hoboken wants non-essential helicopters banned from flying over city, mayor says The mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, said his city plans to file a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration for failing to halt non-essential helicopter activity. The controversy isn't new, but it comes months after a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, killing three children and three adults. Hoboken mayor wants tourist helicopters banned from flying over city Mayor Ravi Bhalla said choppers have been flying dangerously low in recent years and that April's deadly crash should be a wake-up call. It's why the Democrat says his city plans on suing the FAA for failing to protect his residents. "We are asking them to have all non-essential helicopters banned from flying over the city of Hoboken," he said. CBS News New York's Christine Sloan noticed over three dozen helicopters fly over the city in the span of one hour. Bhalla said many of those flights are non-essential. "They are tourist helicopters, and they are ones that simply disrupt our peace and quiet in Hoboken," he said. The mayor did not say exactly when Hoboken will file the lawsuit. CBS News New York reached out to the FAA, but the agency said it does not comment on pending litigation. Residents mixed on low-flying helicopter noise Many Hoboken residents say the sound of helicopters overhead is constant. "I notice the noise when I'm in my apartment 'cause they fly kind of just like over the city as well, and I feel that rumble," resident Lily Helander said. "They definitely fly low," resident Melissa Marion said. "I think there should be more regulations than there are now." Some residents, however, said they are not concerned. "I certainly think there are other issues at hand to deal with before dealing with low-flying helicopters," resident Winston Allen said. An organization called "Stop the Chop" said there are some 80,000 non-essential flights a year over New York City, which has some of the busiest heliports in the nation, and a relatively new heliport in Kearny could be the reason some flights stay low. "Because of the location of the Kearny heliport and the location of Newark Airport, the helicopters have difficulty staying out of the way of the fixed wing aircraft taking off and landing in Newark," Stop the Chop President Andrew Rosenthal said. CBS News New York reached out to the Kearny heliport and one of the busier sight-seeing helicopter companies but were unable to get comment for our story.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fatal Jersey City crash spurs plan to ban helicopters around Statue of Liberty
Rep. Rob Menendez, a Democrat, is one of several federal lawmakers who wants to ban all non-essential helicopter traffic in a 20-mile radius around the Statue of Liberty. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) A month after a sightseeing helicopter fell apart in the sky over Jersey City, killing six, three federal lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill that would ban all non-essential helicopter traffic within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty. Such restrictions are necessary because sightseeing and commuter helicopters clog the airspace sometimes at dangerously low altitudes, create excessive air and noise pollution, and endanger densely populated urban areas on both sides of the Hudson River, said Reps. Rob Menendez (D-08), Jerrold Nadler (D-New York), and Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York). 'Last month's tragic crash should be a clarion call for every level of government to take action on helicopter safety,' Menendez said in a statement. 'Rising congestion of non-essential helicopters, coupled with concerning safety records of air tourism operators, are causing a direct threat to public safety. Along with my colleagues from New Jersey and New York, we're doing what is necessary to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.' The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released a preliminary investigative report on that April 10 crash. It offered no cause but shed light on the helicopter's path and fatal fall. The Bell 206L-4 helicopter carrying a Spanish family of five broke apart in the air about 17 minutes after it took off from the Wall Street Heliport in Manhattan, according to the report. Killed were Agustin Escobar, 49, a Siemens executive; his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39; their three children, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10; and pilot Seankese Johnson, 36. Investigators determined that Johnson — on his eighth sightseeing flight of the day in that helicopter — first flew by the Statue of Liberty before heading north on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River past the George Washington Bridge. He then made a U-turn and headed south again along the New Jersey side of the river. As he approached the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers by Jersey City at a height of about 675 feet, witnesses heard several loud bangs and the chopper fell in three pieces into the river, investigators found. This chart shows the helicopter breaking apart in the sky over the Hudson River near Jersey City. (Courtesy of the National Transportation Safety Board) The fuselage, with engine attached, landed in about six feet of water north of the tunnel's ventilation towers, and investigators found the chopper's main rotor and tail sections in about 30 feet of water farther north, according to the report. They also found debris on a Hoboken rooftop. An initial review of the chopper's maintenance records showed its most recent inspection occurred on Feb. 27, the report says. Johnson, a U.S. Navy veteran, had logged 790 hours of flight experience, the report says. The aircraft, which was operated by a company called New York Helicopter, had no video or data recording devices onboard, the report says. Photos taken of Johnson before he flew his final flight showed him wearing computer-augmented sunglasses that had video and audio recording capability, but they were not recovered. The crash was one of about 30 helicopter crashes that killed 31 people in the region since 1983, according to Menendez's office. His bill, co-sponsored by Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-10), also has the support of Stop the Chop NY/NJ. That grassroots advocacy group says the fatal helicopter crashes, along with a longtime shortage of air traffic controllers, prove the need for the 'immediate reform of the current Wild West-like conditions over NYC and surrounding communities.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
