Wednesday’s crash has given fresh ammunition to airport opponents and politicians who’d like to see operations at Teterboro curtailed. The airport is 12 miles from Manhattan and is consequently among the busiest GA airports in the U.S. On Thursday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Teterboro, decided to try to reduce the number of flights at the airport. “We are going to try to improve the safety and the quality of life for residents in and around Teterboro Airport,” Acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey told reporters after meeting with Port Authority officials. The Jersey officials reckon it’s an odds game. The fewer the flights, the less chance of accidents. However, they did let it slip that safety wasn’t their only concern. Codey said he’d like to see noisier Stage 2 jets banned from Teterboro (the Challenger is a Stage 3 aircraft), which would bring about a 5-percent reduction in flights. But the state and port officials also say only the FAA can make those sorts of decisions and it hasn’t shown much interest in the past. “The FAA has been extremely unhelpful,” Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) said. “Given their history, they will not reduce flights without extreme pressure.”
