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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2004

SCHUMER: NEW YORK AIRSPACE RULES LEAVE CITY AT RISK TO TERRORISM; FEDS TO CHANGE THEM FOR CONVENTION WEEK ONLY, SENATOR SAYS UPGRADES SHOULD BE PERMANENT

Feds have tightened rules for Washington DC,
Schumer asks similar consideration for New York

10-year-old General Aviation rules for private planes and helicopters over New York virtually same as before 9/11

New York Air Traffic Control still does not ask for flight plans and has no way of knowing if private aircraft veer off course

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that despite the efforts to upgrade the nation’s commercial air security after 9/11, General Aviation rules for private planes and helicopters traveling over New York City have not been significantly upgraded over the last ten years. This leaves gaps in the city’s security and leaves New York Air Traffic Controllers with no real way of knowing for sure if a plane or helicopter has veered off course and is heading to a potential terrorist target - a sharp contrast to upgrades that have been successfully implemented over Washington, DC.

Schumer noted that the Federal Aviation Administration is planning to tighten rules and procedures in New York significantly during this summer’s Republican National Convention, and today asked that agency to make key aspects of these improvements permanent, so that the people who live in or visit New York year-round are better protected from potential airborne terrorist attacks.

“There’s an old saying that ‘forewarned is forearmed’, and that’s exactly why we haven’t suffered any major foreign terrorist attacks on US soil since 9/11 - because we found out in time to stop them,” Schumer said. “It’s crazy that we’re operating the same way that we did 10 years ago, and that we don’t give Air Traffic Controllers the tools they need to know if a private plane veers off course and is headed to a terrorist target. If we’re going to tighten up the airspace for one week at the end of August because 50,000 visitors are in town for the Republican Convention, then we should make the most important of those changes permanent for the rest of the year when there are 12 million people in New York City every working day.”

Aviation regulations in the United States generally divide the airspace above populated land into two halves – that above 2,000 feet and that below 2,000 feet. The airspace above 2,000 feet is tightly controlled with all aircraft having to file detailed flight plans before takeoff and requirements they have functioning transponders in use that broadcast a signal so authorities can identify each aircraft. Under 2,000 feet, neither of these rules is in place, even for larger private planes like a Gulfstream V, which can weigh as much as 91,000 pounds, approximately the same weight as a DC-6 airliner.

After the crash of WNBC-TV’s Chopper 4 over Brooklyn on May 4, 2004, Schumer launched a comprehensive review of the multiple and overlapping regulations and procedures in place governing the airspace over and around New York City. Congestion in lower-altitude air over New York City was initially blamed in part for the crash, in which there were no fatalities.

Schumer’s office found that despite the efforts to upgrade the nation's commercial air security after 9/11, General Aviation rules which apply to private planes and helicopters traveling over New York City have not been significantly upgraded over the last ten years. Over most of the city, all that a pilot has to do as long he or she stays below 2,000 feet is obtain routine permission from air traffic controllers so that they can track them on radar.

Under this routine, which is called “Route Permission,” a pilot only has to radio ground control as he or she approaches New York City and relay the intent to travel over the area. No detailed flight plans are required. Because Air Traffic Control does not know what specific path an aircraft plans to take, they are unable to easily determine if a pilot has left his or her course as part of a deliberate attack on a building, a bridge, or an area with a high density of people in it.

Schumer noted that unlike New York City, the airspace over Washington DC is permanently closed to General Aviation. On June 9, a jet carrying Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher to Washington for President Reagan’s funeral had a malfunctioning transponder that was not broadcasting an identifying signal. As a result of the confusion, air defense officials scrambled four aircraft — two more than originally reported – to intercept Fletcher's plane, and immediately evacuated the US Capitol. Unlike New York, Washington does not have airports or non-governmental heliports within the city’s borders. Schumer does not propose closing New York City to General Aviation, but questioned today whether there would have been such an immediate response had an unidentified plane headed toward a major landmark in New York City.

Schumer said today that at his urging and that of other elected officials, significant though short-term upgrades are planned for the week that the Republican Convention is in New York City, which will run from August 30 to September 2. Today he wrote to TSA Acting Administrator David M. Stone and FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey asking that several of the improvements be made permanent. Specifically, Schumer proposed:

Require low-flying aircraft to submit a flight plan to the FAA before entering NYC airspace. As detailed above, General Aviation and helicopter flights currently need only radio Air Traffic Control before they enter New York City and maintain transponder contact with the ground. During Convention Week, they will be required to file full flight plans, which will give the FAA advance knowledge and a record of every plane that flies in New York City airspace. Schumer today proposed making this security upgrade permanent.

Create a “frequent-flyer” permanent waiver for known pilots and aircraft like news and traffic helicopters. Schumer said that while could reasonably be expected to submit flight plans for Convention Week, a new waiver system has to be developed to allow commercial pilots who regularly fly over the City as often as several times a day for purposes like news or traffic reporting, sightseeing tours, or passenger charter flights to do their jobs.

Close the Hudson River approach permanently. After September 11, the FAA closed an approach over the Hudson River where general aviation low-flying aircraft could fly into New York without contact with local controllers. This route has since been reopened. The FAA is closing it during the Republican Convention, but plans to reopen it after. Schumer today asked the FAA to keep it closed.

Tighten security at heliports. The Department of Homeland Security is deploying Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel on the ground in New York heliports to help screen passengers and cargo during the Republican Convention. Schumer today asked them to be retained, in some form, permanently after the Convention.

Fix staffing shortfalls and upgrade current technology. Schumer noted that these new requirements would create additional work for New York Air Traffic Controllers. Last spring, Schumer released a study that found New York will face a desperate shortage of air traffic controllers in the next five years, because 27 percent of air traffic controllers serving New York are eligible for retirement with full pension benefits before 2008. At JFK International Airport, 49 percent of the air traffic controllers are eligible for retirement in the next five years. Schumer said today that the US Department of Transportation must work with local air traffic controllers and make the funding available to devise an effective framework to increase the number of air traffic controllers and to improve security over New York’s skies.
“While I realize you are responsible for a nationwide aviation network that needs constant oversight and protection, I think you would agree that New York is in a unique security environment the best personnel and most advanced technology. I think we are of the same opinion that air security regulations should be at a level that ensures no plane can travel without constant surveillance and without a predetermined flight path,” Schumer wrote.

Schumer was joined today by Jimmie Garrett, an Air Traffic Controller at New York TRACON who is a Legislative Representative for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

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