Two years ago, a sightseeing helicopter and a small private plane collided over the Hudson River, killing a total of 9 people and raising questions about air traffic safety. Now, the Post reports, "The federal government has struck a secret deal with operators of tourist helicopters -- allowing them to fly in airspace over the Hudson River supposed to be reserved only for small, private aircraft." To make matters worse, "Even the private pilots who use the corridor are not warned by FAA flight briefers to be on alert for the choppers they don’t expect to encounter." more ›

The new FAA rules regarding air traffic over the Hudson River go into effect Thursday, separating pilots into three altitude corridors: in the lower two (below 1,300 feet), local commuter planes and sightseeing helicopters would still rely on the "see and avoid" method, but would also be required to tune their radio to a frequency of 123.05; announce their location, description and route; and obey a speed limit of 140 knots or less. Longer flights under the jurisdiction of air traffic controllers will fly above 1,300 feet. But critics say the rules don't go far enough to prevent another crash like the August 8th collision between a small plane and a sightseeing helicopter that claimed nine lives. more ›

This is equal parts terrifying and beautiful, a map depicting 24 hours of the nation's flight patterns (two million planes pass through New York's airspace each year). This Google map shows roughly 205,000 aircraft the FAA tracked on August 12th, 2008—with darker colors indicating a higher altitude and lighter lines showing takeoffs and landings. more ›