More helicopters could be flying over major cities in the years to come as air taxi services become more popular.
Meanwhile, Blade, an app that allows users to crowdsource helicopter flights or buy seats on existing flights, has expanded operations to Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area since launching in New York back in 2014. But this week’s crash has raised new questions about safety. Rep.
Comparatively, in 2017 alone, more than 37,000 people died in highway accidents in the U.S. Even when factoring in the fact that people far more frequently travel by car or truck than by helicopter, people are vastly more likely to die in a car accident than in a helicopter crash. However, nearly one-fifth of the deaths caused by helicopter accidents were associated with an aircraft operating under Part 135 of Federal Aviation Regulation, which applies to companies operating tours, air taxi services, and medical transport. Pilots who operate these planes are required to go through more training and must follow stricter guidelines about how to operate aircraft.
The circumstances of the crash point to the need for improved regulation of helicopter activity, Goldman said, particularly as companies like Uber get into the helicopter business. Complicating matters, private pilots, such as the one who died in Monday’s crash, don’t receive the same training as those who fly for tour or air taxi companies. The FAA has said that the pilot involved in Monday’s crash, Timothy McCormack, was not certified to fly in the weather conditions that were in place that day, according to NBC News. Yet, he did so anyway.
This is getting ridiculous ...money losing company in the billions trying to clog up the airways because the roads are already too clogged WakeUpPeople