NYC Officials Call For Ban On Non-Essential Helicopter Flights

NEW YORK, NY — The federal government should make luxury helicopter flights for New York City's elite and visiting tourists a thing of the past, a group of lawmakers says.

Nine House of Representatives members from the New York City area sent a letter Friday asking the Federal Aviation Administration to ban "non-essential" helicopter rides over the city.

The call comes eleven days after the June 10 helicopter accident that killed a pilot who crashed into the roof of a Midtown Manhattan high rise. The incident was the latest in an unsettling string of helicopter-related emergencies to take place in the city in the past few years.

"There is no justification for allowing tourists to joy-ride through our skies, endangering people below and adding to the heavy burden of noise pollution residents already endure," read the letter. "Commuter helicopter flights impose risks to the community that far outweigh any benefits to the very small number of people who use them," the lawmakers' letter reads.

The letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Nydia Velazquez, Adriano Espaillat, Kathleen M. Rice, Grace Meng, Thomas R. Suozzi, Eliot L. Engel, and Jose E. Serrano. All are Democrats.

This isn't the first time in recent years that a helicopter crash in the city has inspired elected officials to push for better safety regulations.

The city's Economic Development Corporation moved to ban "doors off" helicopter flights from the Lower Manhattan Heliport following a March 2018 crash that killed five tourists. The aircraft was on a sightseeing flight when it crashed into the East River.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has also publicly said that he supports a ban of non-essential helicopter flights over Manhattan.

"Obviously, exceptions should be made for emergency response, first-responders, uniformed services, obviously news cameras, also news helicopters should be exempted," the Democratic mayor said on WNYC last week. "But for any kind of civilian traffic, it should not go over Manhattan in any way, shape or form."

A full text of the letter sent to the FAA can be found here.