About The Plane Accident On the Hudson River
I was saddened today to hear about a crash between a Piper single-engine plane and a helicopter over the Hudson River. According to my logbook, I’ve flown the Hudson River corridor twenty-five times. To me, flying down the Hudson requires a considerably more focus and situational awareness than most other flying that a pilot will experience, except perhaps landing using only instruments in low-visibility weather.
New York City airspace is busy and very regulated. There are three major airports whose airspaces converge. (Click on the graphic to the right for a larger view.) “1″ is Newark/Liberty Airport. “2″ is JFK. “3″ is La Guardia. “4″ is the 13-mile long island of Manhattan. “5″ is the Statue of Liberty, where southbound air traffic turns north after hopefully getting a good, safe view. The route we fly is indicated by the shakily-drawn red line.
The FAA allows us to fly below 1000 feet under the airspace owned by those three airports. It is uncontrolled airspace. You are generally not in communication with an air traffic controller. In fact, pilots, employing a self-announce protocol on a common published radio frequency let other pilots know where they are by what landmarks they are passing. It’s the pilot’s job to keep track of other planes through their announcements and keep a sharp eye as well. “Hudson River traffic, Single-engine Cessna, 900 feet, GW Bridge, southbound,” or, “Hudson River traffic, Single-engine Cessna, 900 feet, Intrepid, northbound,” would be typical radio calls.
I’ve flown the corridor on busy days when there might have been 10 planes or more proceeding in single file at the same altitude of 900 feet. It takes a lot of attention to keep a mental fix on where the other planes are. There is no time for playing tour guide or being distracted by passengers’ questions. I went down the corridor one evening just before Christmas with an instructor when I was a student pilot. Manhattan was ablaze with holiday lights. Amazing.
Flying the regular procession down the west side of the Hudson and back up the east side is one thing. Having planes join the procession from Teterboro (see “6″ north east of Newark on this map) or one of the NYC heliports adds additional workload for the pilot. Apparently the fixed-wing plane in the accident had taken off from Teterboro.
They closed the corridor after 9/11 for a few years. Then reopened it again. I hope they keep it open. I could be wrong, but with all the flights up and down the Hudson over the course of many decades, I don’t believe there have been any fatal accidents. On the other hand, I can tell you that every passenger I’ve flown on that route has been thrilled, having seen New York from a perspective that few others ever experience.
My heart goes out to the families of those lost in today’s unfortunate accident.
Photo credit: Dave Stein. Heading north after turning around The Statue of Liberty at 500 feet.
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Thanks, Dave, for this very interesting and informative perspective on today’s tragic accident!
I think most people should stick to commercial flights and not become non-professional, private pilots. I just think too many people who are up there are not cut out for it, it is not a walk in the park, it’s super serious and you have to rely on others to be as aware, educated, and in good form as you are. That’s not how things work in reality, especially when you’re not talking about professional pilots. Bad enough we have imperfect drivers on the road. At least when they screw up the consequences are often manageable.
With that said, I think you are an exception.
Dave,
I’ve had the benefit and privilege of flying in the Washington DC region with someone as knowledgeable and skillful as are you, and the experience was exhilarating and joyful. From Mount Weather, the Shenandoah Valley and the Chesapeake Bay to a limited skirting of Washington itself, the experience was incredibly memorable. It also reinforced that learning to fly wasn’t something I should consider unless I was willing to invest myself suffiiciently to achieve real mastery. I knew at once that I couldn’t devote myself to that and to two other passionate pursuits.
Thanks for sharing real insight into the tragic accident. With you, my heart goes out to the victims and their families.
Dave,
For another interesting perspective on this, see this article in yesterday’s NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/nyregion/12flight.html?_r=1&hp
Thanks, Mark. I did see the article. Been following this one closely.
Dave
Nice write-up Dave. I just caught the flying bug, did a 20 min intro flight in a C172N and will start ground school next week.