At a public meeting on Wednesday, January 18, Helicopter Association International (HAI) President Matthew Zuccaro spoke out against a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) designed to make the Washington, D.C. Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) restrictions permanent. The public meeting, the second of two meetings on the subject, was hosted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to a flood of negative comments on the NPRM from pilots, airport operators, and others in the General Aviation (GA) community.
Pointing to examples of the costs imposed on the helicopter community by the air space restrictions surrounding the nation’s capital and questioning the logic and efficacy of existing restrictions, Zuccaro urged representatives of the FAA, U.S. Secret Service, Department of Defense, Customs and Border Patrol, and Transportation Security Administration to rethink the idea of making the ADIZ permanent.
Zuccaro opened his comments by extolling the versatility and potential of the helicopter, as demonstrated so vividly last summer in response to Hurricane Katrina. “We can go places no one else can go. We can do things no one else can do. Helicopters can do just about anything. They are the time machine of our generation. Unfortunately, there is one thing we cannot do – operate within the airspace of our nation’s capital,†Zuccaro said.
The HAI President went on to list examples of the economic impact of existing Washington, D.C. air space restrictions on individual operators. He described how the restrictions have crippled corporate helicopter activity in the area and decimated civil helicopter operations at the only public heliport in D.C., the South Capitol Street Heliport. He outlined the frustrating and costly experience of America Rising and its blocked dream of initiating daily scheduled helicopter service between downtown New York and Washington, D.C. “It is not just a question of experienced financial loss, which has been substantial. What is more important is the loss of future opportunities and growth for the helicopter industry.â€
Zuccaro (right) contended that, despite all of the economic losses and lost possibilities, the ADIZ does not work and would not necessarily prevent a terrorist attack launched from within the restricted area.
“What it does is treat innocent, compliance oriented GA pilots and operators like criminals,†he said.
Aero-News Network
Pointing to examples of the costs imposed on the helicopter community by the air space restrictions surrounding the nation’s capital and questioning the logic and efficacy of existing restrictions, Zuccaro urged representatives of the FAA, U.S. Secret Service, Department of Defense, Customs and Border Patrol, and Transportation Security Administration to rethink the idea of making the ADIZ permanent.
Zuccaro opened his comments by extolling the versatility and potential of the helicopter, as demonstrated so vividly last summer in response to Hurricane Katrina. “We can go places no one else can go. We can do things no one else can do. Helicopters can do just about anything. They are the time machine of our generation. Unfortunately, there is one thing we cannot do – operate within the airspace of our nation’s capital,†Zuccaro said.
The HAI President went on to list examples of the economic impact of existing Washington, D.C. air space restrictions on individual operators. He described how the restrictions have crippled corporate helicopter activity in the area and decimated civil helicopter operations at the only public heliport in D.C., the South Capitol Street Heliport. He outlined the frustrating and costly experience of America Rising and its blocked dream of initiating daily scheduled helicopter service between downtown New York and Washington, D.C. “It is not just a question of experienced financial loss, which has been substantial. What is more important is the loss of future opportunities and growth for the helicopter industry.â€
Zuccaro (right) contended that, despite all of the economic losses and lost possibilities, the ADIZ does not work and would not necessarily prevent a terrorist attack launched from within the restricted area.
“What it does is treat innocent, compliance oriented GA pilots and operators like criminals,†he said.
Aero-News Network
