NEW YORK (WPIX)—
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing new regulations for the airspace around Manhattan in an effort to prevent accidents like last month's fatal midair crash over the Hudson River that left nine people dead.Following a National Transportation Safety Board investigation of the early August crash that involved a sightseeing helicopter and small plane over the Hudson, the agency made several recommendations to the FAA on August 27. These changes included requiring pilots to use radio communication and establishing different layers of airspace for certain aircrafts.
Currently, small aircrafts are allowed to fly under 1,100 feet in the Hudson River corridor without communicating to air traffic control. At this low altitude, pilots are required to navigate the airspace visually. Aircrafts flying at an altitude above 1,100 feet enter the Hudson Exclusion Zone and require clearance to fly.
The FAA proposes to raise the ceiling of the Hudson River Exclusion Zone to 1,300 feet for aircrafts to use "see and avoid" protocol. But under this rule, small planes and helicopters are still allowed to share the same airspace, rather than be divided into two separate layers as the NTSB recommends.
New regulations would also require all planes to use a common radio frequency to identify themselves and location if they fly under 1,300 feet. Current rules say radio communication is voluntary.
The FAA says they will also create a new level of airspace from 1,300 to 2,000 feet to act as an expressway for nonlocal aircrafts flying through the New York City area. Pilots flying through this altitude range would be required to communicate with area air traffic controllers, who would in turn send back advisories on other nearby aircrafts that may cause a flying conflict.
Critics of the new FAA regulations say neglecting to designate differing airspace for helicopters and small planes is detrimental to safety and invites the potential for future accidents.
The FAA proposals would go into effect by November 19.
