U.S. House Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) renewed his efforts to ban helicopters in New York City, introducing a bill with Reps. Rob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York) that would bar all nonessential helicopter traffic within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty.
It joins at least a handful of bills that Nadler has co-sponsored since 2019 to restrict helicopters in the region. In introducing this latest bill, Improving Helicopter Safety Act (H.R.3196), Nadler pointed to the April 10 crash of an air tour helicopter into the Hudson River that claimed six lives.
“The tragic helicopter crash last month on the Hudson River was not an isolated incident; it was the latest in a long line of preventable tragedies in the New York metropolitan region’s increasingly crowded and poorly regulated airspace,” Nadler said. “For far too long, nonessential helicopter flights have endangered public safety and shattered the peace of our neighborhoods. I am proud to introduce the bipartisan Improving Helicopter Safety Act with my colleagues…to finally put an end to these dangerous flights in our region. We owe it to the victims, and to every resident living beneath these flight paths, to put safety first and prevent future disasters.”
Menendez agreed, saying the crash “should be a clarion call for every level of government to take action on helicopter safety.” And Malliotakis reiterated that the Hudson River accident was not an isolated event: “It’s the clearest sign yet of an industry that has operated without meaningful oversight for far too long and continues to pose an unacceptable public safety threat.”
The lawmakers noted that there have been at least 30 helicopter crashes in the New York area that have led to at least 31 fatalities since 1983. They also believe the most recent accident has placed a spotlight on concerns about regulatory oversight and operational standards.