Airports and State Advocacy
AOPA reaches out to media in wake of N.Y. accident
In the wake of the tragic Aug. 8 accident in the New York Hudson River VFR corridor involving a general aviation airplane and a sightseeing helicopter, AOPA quickly reached out to the media with the facts about the airspace and GA safety.
“When tragedy strikes general aviation, thrusting it into the national media, AOPA works quickly to make facts available to reporters who often know very little about the industry,” said Andrew Broom, AOPA vice president of communications. “We also caution the media not to jump to conclusions and allow the NTSB to report its initial findings.”
Shortly after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a press conference releasing more details about the accident, AOPA President Craig Fuller and AOPA Air Safety Foundation President Bruce Landsberg issued statements.
“Mayor Bloomberg is a pilot, and he did a great job stating the facts and explaining the VFR corridor in terms easily understandable for the nonflying public,” said Chris Dancy, AOPA director of media relations.
AOPA has worked with many news outlets, including Fox News, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, The Associated Press, and ABC News. The association also released GA accident data from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Accident Database, which draws its information directly from the NTSB.
“We will continue to share statistics about the rarity of midair collisions and explain the corridor to reporters,” said Broom. “But as Mayor Bloomberg so clearly stated, we cannot jump to conclusions in this accident and must wait for information as it becomes available from the NTSB’s investigation.”
August 10, 2009
