BILL NUMBER: S2299
SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring heli-
copters be equipped with flight recorders, cockpit voice recorders and
terrain awareness and warning systems
 
PURPOSE:
To ensure that helicopters are equipped with mechanisms to help prevent
crashes and devices that record flight data and cockpit conversations.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
The bill amends the general business law to require that helicopters
flown in New York State be equipped with a flight data recorder, cockpit
voice recorder, and a terrain awareness/warning system.
 
EXISTING LAW:
The general business law currently does not require that these devices
be installed in helicopters.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
On January 26, 2020, basketball star Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daugh-
ter Gianna, and seven others died in a fatal helicopter crash in Calaba-
sas, California. News reports indicated that the helicopter they were in
was not equipped with a terrain avoidance warning system, or a so-called
"black box" of the kind typically found in airplanes. Senator Chuck
Schumer called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to mandate
flight data recorders on all helicopters, citing a fatal crash in
Manhattan where one person lost his life. Senator Schumer called on the
FAA to "take another look at the NTSB's reports on chopper crashes simi-
lar to the one in New York City just last week and propel the safety
measures that have been collecting dust for far too long." The federal
government has failed to act. This legislation ensures that all helicop-
ters in our state are equipped with devices that help aviators fly their
helicopters safely.
 
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
None.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: Referred to Transportation
2023-24: Referred to Transportation
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
On the one hundred eightieth day after becoming a law.

Statutes affected:
S2299: 243 general business law