West 30th Street Heliport

The West 30th Street Heliport (IATA: JRA, ICAO: KJRA, FAA LID: JRA) 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.[2] It is owned by the Hudson River Park Trust and operated by Abigail Trenk and Brian Tolbert.

West 30th Street Heliport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerHudson River Park Trust
OperatorAbigail Trenk, Brian Tolbert
ServesNew York City
LocationNew York City, New York
Elevation AMSL7 ft / 2.1 m
Coordinates40.754626°N 74.006808°W / 40.754626; -74.006808
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
1 44 13.4 Asphalt
2 44 13.4 Asphalt
3 44 13.4 Asphalt
4 44 13.4 Asphalt
5 37 11.3 Asphalt
6 37 11.3 Asphalt
8 (H-A) 44 13.4 Asphalt
9 (H-B) 44 13.4 Asphalt
10 (H-C) 37 11.3 Asphalt
11 (H-D) 37 11.3 Asphalt
Source: Airnav:[1]

Operations

KJRA has one published Instrument Procedures: COPTER RNAV (GPS) 210.[3] 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.[4] However, this agreement was voided by state legislation in 2013, and the heliport remains open.[5]

Airlines

Charter
AirlinesDestinations
Blade East Hampton, Southampton, JFK Airport, LGA Airport, EWR Airport, Montauk Airport,

Statistics

73% of the flights are air taxi, 16% general aviation, 10% commercial, and less than 1% military.[1]

Accidents and incidents
  • On June 25, 1968, a Brantly 305 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.[6]
  • On December 31, 1997, an Aérospatiale AS-355 returning from a sightseeing flight crashed into a building at the West 30th Street Heliport. Eight people were injured in the accident.[7]
  • 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.[8]
  • On August 8, 2009, nine people were killed when a Liberty Helicopters sightseeing helicopter collided with a private plane shortly after takeoff from the West 30th Street Heliport. Both aircraft were operating on visual flight rules.

See also

References
  1. AirNav: JRA - West 30th Street Heliport
  2. "Heliport to Open Sept. 26". New York Times. 1956-08-27. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  3. https://www.airnav.com/airport/KJRA
  4. Friedman, Marcy. "Settlement Agreement" (PDF). US Supreme Court. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  5. Kim, Elizabeth (20 May 2019). "Heliport Near The Site Of Recent Helicopter Crash Was For Years Targeted For Removal". Gothamist. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  6. "POLICE RESCUE 6 IN COPTER CRASH; Swim Out to Get Pilot and Passengers in Hudson". New York Times. 1968-06-26. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  7. Rohde, David (1998-01-01). "Eight Injured as Helicopter Hits Building". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  8. Fernandez, Manny (2007-07-08). "Copter Crashes in Hudson, but No One Is Hurt". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
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