Cows:
In respect to total helicopter operations in and out of West 30th Street heliport (KJRA), sightseeing is phasing out, moving to Wall Street (much more open and easier to access).
Not by choice of the operators, I have to add, rather by a court decision resulting from noise complaints:
The noisy
W. 30th St. Heliport, located within the Hudson River Park, will become progressively quieter beginning next year when
sightseeing flights are reduced by half, and will
be eliminated entirely by April 1, 2010, according to a settlement in Manhattan State Supreme Court.
But commercial, government and emergency flights will continue at W. 30th St. until the end of 2014 or until a new heliport is in operation on a nearby pier outside of park boundaries, according to the settlement of the lawsuit filed by Friends of Hudson River Park and others against the Hudson River Park Trust, the state-city agency building the 5-mile-long park, and Air Pegasus, which has been operating the heliport for decades.
[...]
But Mayor Bloomberg has frequently reaffirmed the long-held city policy that a West Side Heliport is needed for business connections to major airports, and the settlement was reached after six months of negotiations to satisfy park use and transportation needs.
The phasing out of sightseeing flights under the settlement allows 25,000 such flights from June 1, 2008, to May 31, 2009. From June 2009 to March 31, 2010, the total number of sightseeing flights will be no more that 12,500. During the entire time, sightseeing flights on the West Side will be restricted to over the middle of the Hudson River.
The maximum number of both sightseeing and nonsightseeing flights at W. 30th St. will be 41,250 between June 2008 through May 31, 2009, and
26,050 from June 2009 through March 31, 2010. Beginning April 1, 2010, there will be no more than 16,250 annual flights from W. 30th St. However, flights resulting from a declared federal or state emergency will be exempt from those limits.
Source:
Chopper flight numbers to be chopped down
So basically its already down to a maximum of 71 flights allowed a day (that's like 5-6 an hour during daylight) and will be less than 44/day next year. Actually Airnav .com quotes a statistic saying that in 12 month last year there where only 52 operations a day - not sure were that number is from.
Not saying that the total number of flights on the hudson river will go down, but the takeoffs and landings can be structured safer.
Will they shutdown the corridor? Very unlikely, the city officials themselves have a huge interest in the heliports, since they (and their "supporters" - read: lobbyists) are using the heliports themselves. As far as sightseeing goes, here is a quote from USA Today about the hard to ignore economics:
The city's Economic Development Corporation says helicopter charters and sightseeing employs nearly 1,400 people and brings in nearly $300 million in annual revenue to the city.
As far as positive control is concerned; it's not the first time the discussion flared up (believe it or not) and multiple studies showed, that it is almost impossible between radar shadows (buildings) and sheer amount of necessary traffic advisories (as someone stated earlier, the controller wouldn't stop talking) to safely conduct operations. It would probably be less safe, because a single set of eyes would be responsible for separation and since that person would constantly talk, nobody could warn each other, even if they fly see and avoid.
Can the current procedures be improved? Sure! But knee-jerk regulation resulting from a freak/fluke/random (whatever description suits you) accident cannot be the solution!
