Printer-friendly Version

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 15, 2006

Schumer Demands FAA Complete Top To Bottom Review Of NY Airspace In Light Of Recent Crash And Terrorism Threat Within 90 Days

Senator Gives FAA 9 Possible Ways to Make Airspace Safer Including Rapid Response Helicopters, Chem/Bio Risk Assessment for Small Planes, Background Checks for Frequent Flyers

Schumer: The FAA is Living in the Past, Must Finally Consider Terrorism in Addition to Safety

Following last week’s tragic airplane accident on the Upper East Side which exposed gaping holes in New York City’s aviation security and the city’s vulnerability to terrorism, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to complete a top-to-bottom assessment of the New York airspace in the next 90 days. On Friday the FAA imposed a new regulation requiring pilots to seek specific permission from air traffic control to fly over the East River corridor but did not look at a host of other security issues for the New York airspace. Today Schumer asked the FAA to complete this study and look at nine specific issues. He also demanded that the FAA focus on terrorism, not just safety when making new regulations for New York.

“Last week’s tragic accident underscored just how vulnerable our city still is, and it made clear that the FAA is living in the past. It is still, somehow, only focused on safety when it also needs to seriously consider the risks of terrorism,” Schumer said. “It boggles the mind that we have gone to great lengths to ensure lip gloss and deodorant do not get on our commercial airplanes, but we cannot get our general aviation regulations up to snuff though we have repeatedly seen the possible consequences. The FAA hasn’t completed an assessment of our airspace and the regulations since before 9-11, it is well past time.”

General aviation includes small planes and helicopters, and encompasses virtually all flights other than scheduled passenger airline, military, and cargo flights. Despite the efforts to upgrade the nation’s commercial air security after 9/11, general aviation rules for small planes and helicopters traveling over New York City have not been significantly upgraded over the last ten years and remain less stringent in comparison to the aviation rules imposed around Washington D.C.. New York’s current rules leave security officials and air traffic controllers with no real way of knowing if a plane or helicopter has veered off course and is heading to a potential terrorist target.

Though the airspace rules for New York were tightened around 9-11, at the beginning of the Iraq war and for the Republican convention in 2004 but the tighter regulations were rescinded after each occasion. Schumer said today that its high time to FAA really assess the airspace regulations in New York and asked the FAA to look at nine changes to make New York Safer without strangling commerce.

Schumer asked the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate to:

1. Allocate funding for rapid response helicopters. The U.S. Coast Guard in Washington D.C., under the North American Aerospace Defense Command, uses two HH-65C Dolphin helicopters to intercept and interdict aircraft that may pose a threat. The HH-65C Dolphin helicopters are designed to elevate and maneuver very quickly to intercept potential threat aircraft. The fighter jets like those scrambled in emergencies are actually too fast to match the speed of a general aviation craft.

2. Explore expanding rules to require communication with air traffic control like the rule implemented Friday for the East River, including the area over 7,000 feet above Manhattan.

3. Determine whether the rules for small airplanes should also apply to helicopters.

4. Check on the feasibility of a trusted flyer program that allows pilots who pass prior background check to fly in the most restricted zones. With a “trusted flyer” program only registered pilots who are subject to prior background checks will be able to fly in the most restricted zones including alongside Manhattan’s shores. After registering, these pilots will be able to use the river corridors as long as they submit flight plans, announce their identities and stay in communication with air traffic control.

5. Assess whether pilots should have background checks before flying in river corridors or over Manhattan.

6. Determine whether Air Traffic Control in New York and elsewhere needs more resources to expand responsibility for General Aviation aircraft. Even just the new East River regulation that requires small planes seek special permission from air traffic control will place new responsibilities on the already overtaxed air traffic controllers. The FAA needs to look at the city’s air traffic resources and ascertain whether new equipment or more air traffic controllers are necessary to monitor the skies over New York.

7. Work with the Department of Homeland Security to do a formal risk assessment on chemical, biological or radiological weapons that could be disseminated in General Aviation aircraft over New York City. Without an accurate assessment it is impossible to know how at-risk the city is and to have a strategy in place should something like that occur.

8. Review how general aviation rules correspond to DHS color coded threat levels and how they should change when threat level changes. To date, the threat preparedness rules have not adequately accounted for the risk posed by general aviation.

9. Consider making security guidelines for General Aviation airports mandatory. General aviation airports have a list of voluntary regulations that they can choose to impose including double locks, closed circuit TV cameras, and perimeter fencing. Schumer today said that the FAA should work with DHS to discuss making them mandatory.

###