FAA’s New Hudson River Rules Take Effect Thursday

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Key Takeaways:

  • The FAA has issued final new flight rules for the Hudson River VFR corridor, effective November 19th.
  • These new rules aim to prevent midair collisions by creating two separate levels for VFR traffic, separating low-altitude flights from transiting aircraft.
  • Reports that an air traffic controller and supervisor were fired following the August crash were clarified as inaccurate; they remain on paid leave.
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Click for the FAA’s PDF

On Monday, the FAA issued its final version of new flight rules for the VFR corridor above New Yor’s Hudson River. The new rules, which take effect on Thursday, Nov. 19, create two separate levels for VFR traffic, with the aim to prevent another midair like the one in August that killed nine people. Also, while it was reported early in the day on Monday that FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said the agency had fired an air traffic controller and a surpervisor on duty at the time of the crash, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown later said that was not accurate. The two remain on paid leave and no final detemination about their fate has been made, Brown told Bloomberg News.

The new rules separate low-altitude flights above the Hudson from aircraft that are transiting the airspace. Click here for the FAA’s news release and two graphics showing the current flight plan and the new one that goes into effect this week.

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