On January 20 and 21, Helicopter Association International (HAI) President Matt Zuccaro attended a meeting of the FAA New York VFR Airspace Task Force, of which he is a member. The meeting took place at the Federal Building in lower Manhattan, New York City.
The Task force was established following the August 2009 midair collision between an airplane and helicopter within the Class B airspace exclusion over the Hudson River in New York City. The task force, led by Gary Norek, FAA Terminal Airspace Manager, developed recommendations to improve safety within the Class B excluded airspace in the New York City area which included:

• Modification of the overlying Class B airspace to allow stratification of transient and local operations within the Class B excluded airspace
• Establishment of mandatory reporting points for aircraft within the exclusion
• Making previously recommended operating procedures mandatory
• Development of an FAA/industry training program for pilots, ATC controllers, and Heliport FBOs
• Revised ATC procedures for fixed-wing operations from Teterboro airport
• Reviewed airspace delegation between New York Tracon and local ATC towers
• Establishment of a VFR Class B airspace transition route above the Hudson River
• Standardization of various New York area aeronautical charts
• Enhancement of pilot communications capabilities and to reduce frequency congestion on Hudson River Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF)

The above-noted recommendations were adopted by the FAA and enacted this past November.
This meeting allowed for a review of operations within the New York Class B airspace exclusion since the task force recommendations were enacted in November, and an opportunity to identify any additional areas of improvement.
During the meeting, the members of the Task Force, which include FAA staff; industry representatives such as HAI, the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association; air traffic controllers; and the New York Port Authority, were awarded Certificates of Appreciation from the FAA in acknowledgement of their work