West 30th Street Heliport
Encyclopedia
The West 30th Street Heliport is a heliport
on the west side of Manhattan
in New York City. The original heliport opened with two landing pads on September 26, 1956 and in December New York Airways began scheduled passenger flights, the first airline flights to Manhattan.
. Boating traffic in the Hudson River
requires care in the approach to the heliport's landing pad.
Tourist flights out of the 30th Street Heliport are scheduled to move to Downtown Manhattan Heliport
on March 31, 2010 and the heliport itself is scheduled to relocate by on December 31, 2012 as a result of a court agreement between helicopter operators and Friends of Hudson River Park
who took action to enforce the Hudson River Park Act which banned tourism flights from that location.
, 10% commercial, and less than 1% military.
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
on the west side of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City. The original heliport opened with two landing pads on September 26, 1956 and in December New York Airways began scheduled passenger flights, the first airline flights to Manhattan.
Operations
Since this is a heliport and not an airport, there are no Instrument ProceduresInstrument approach
For aircraft operating under instrument flight rules , an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft under instrument flight conditions from the beginning of the initial approach to a landing, or to a point...
. Boating traffic in the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
requires care in the approach to the heliport's landing pad.
Tourist flights out of the 30th Street Heliport are scheduled to move to Downtown Manhattan Heliport
Downtown Manhattan Heliport
The Downtown Manhattan Heliport , also known as the Downtown Manhattan/Wall St. Heliport, is a helicopter landing platform at Pier 6 in the East River in Manhattan, New York.- History :...
on March 31, 2010 and the heliport itself is scheduled to relocate by on December 31, 2012 as a result of a court agreement between helicopter operators and Friends of Hudson River Park
Hudson River Park
Hudson River Park is a waterside park on the Hudson River that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Bicycle and pedestrian paths, including the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, span the park north to south, opening up the waterfront for...
who took action to enforce the Hudson River Park Act which banned tourism flights from that location.
Statistics
73% of the flights are air taxi, 16% general aviationGeneral aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
, 10% commercial, and less than 1% military.
Accidents and incidents
- On June 25, 1968, a Brantly 305Brantly 305-References:*Taylor, John W.R.. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0-354-00538-3.* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft , 1985, Orbis Publishing.-External links:*...
on a sightseeing flight crashed into the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from the West 30th Street Heliport. The pilot and all five passengers were rescued.
- On December 31, 1997, an Aérospatiale AS-355Eurocopter AS355The Eurocopter AS355 Ecureuil 2 is a twin-engine light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale...
returning from a sightseeing flight crashed into a building at the West 30th Street Heliport. Eight people were injured in the accident.
- On July 7, 2007, a Eurocopter EC130 B4 returning to the West 30th Street Heliport from a sightseeing flight had an engine malfunction and made a controlled landing in the Hudson River, deploying its emergency pontoons. The pilot and seven passengers were rescued from private boats.
- On August 8, 2009, nine people were killed when a Liberty Helicopters sightseeing helicopter collided with a private plane2009 Hudson River mid-air collisionThe 2009 Hudson River mid-air collision was a flight accident that occurred on August 8, 2009, at 11:56 a.m. , in which nine people died when a tour helicopter and a small private airplane collided over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey.The aircraft were in...
shortly after takeoff from the West 30th Street Heliport. Both aircraft were operating on visual flight rulesVisual flight rulesVisual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
.