The FAA has created inset charts of the Hudson River to make it easier for pilots to navigate the New York City Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA). The charts, one of the SFRA and the other of the New York City skyline route, will be available free to pilots starting Feb. 11. They can be downloaded online.
While the SFRA is depicted on aeronautical charts, the online inset provides a larger, more detailed depiction of the routes and landmarks. The insets will be published on the reverse of the New York terminal area charts on May 6.
The inset provides the SFRA coordinates, altitudes, communications requirements, and aircraft operations.
The Hudson River Class B exclusion zone became the New York City SFRA on Nov. 19, 2009, as a result of the fatal Aug. 8 accident earlier that year between a Piper PA-32 and a Eurocopter AS350 that was conducting a sightseeing flight. In the wake of the accident, the FAA formed a working group, which included AOPA, to develop recommendations to create a safer environment for flying over the Hudson River. The recommendations from the NTSB’s investigation and the working group formed the basis of the procedures required in the SFRA.
