New Jersey’s governor is asking federal officials to impose restrictions on nonessential helicopter flights in his state after a New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair in April, killing six people
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey’s governor is asking federal officials to impose restrictions on nonessential helicopter flights in his state after a New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair in April, killing six people.
Gov. Phil Murphy, in an Aug. 18 letter, requested the Federal Aviation Administration use its authority to “prohibit or sharply reduce” the number of the aircrafts operating in the state.
The Democrat noted that the helicopter involved in the April 10 crash was based at a heliport in Kearny, New Jersey and plummeted into the Hudson River just 75 feet (22 meters) from the Jersey City waterfront.
He argued that future crashes could be more devastating if they occurred on land as he called on the FAA to impose more stringent regulations, akin to the cap on tourist helicopter flights over Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park that the agency adopted in 2023.
“We must not wait for such a tragedy to occur being taking decisive action,” Murphy wrote.
The governor suggested flights from Kearny could be routed over Newark Bay