Updated 11/16/2009 11:47 PM
FAA To Divide Up Airspace Over Hudson River
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Airspace over the Hudson River will officially be divided up in an effort to improve safety in the air, federal authorities announced Monday.
The airspace over the Hudson River, the site of last summer's fatal mid-air collision between a sightseeing helicopter and a small plane, will be carved into local and long-distance zones
The crowded airspace will now be separated into local and long-distance zones.
Local commuter planes and sightseeing helicopters will be restricted to one zone, under 1,000 feet. Longer flights passing through the area will use the other zone. They will operate between 1,000 and 1,300 feet.
The FAA announced the change, which takes effect Thursday, in a conference call with reporters.
"It's a remarkably safe airspace anyway. Literally tens of thousands of operations are conducted up in this area over the course of the year. We don't want any incidents in the area. So that's what the airspace rules are for," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.
New York Senator Charles Schumer says that will he is pleased action was taken, it does not go far enough.
He says air traffic controllers still will not be in charge of airspace below 1,000 feet, and pilots are not required to file flight plans in advance of flying over the Hudson.
“We had urged the FAA to go back to the drawing board and put in the necessary additions to keep the corridor safe, but will work with them in the months to come fix this safety issue once and for all,” said Schumer in a statement.
"I think there should be a buffer of two or three hundred feet that separates the helicopters that are flying low down from the small planes that are flying through the area. And that will allow for a margin of safety in case people don't see each other as we know can happen or don't communicate with each other as can happen. And it will avoid the result that we saw in August," said aviation attorney and pilot Daniel Rose.
The new rules also call for air traffic headed downriver to stay on the New Jersey side of the Hudson and upriver aircraft to stay to the Manhattan side.