What's happening
This bill requires sellers of helicopters in New York to provide buyers with a notice of reported incidents involving that helicopter's make and model from the past ten years.
Why it matters
Increases transparency for helicopter buyers. Requiring sellers to provide a record of all reported incidents for the helicopter's make and model over the past ten years helps buyers make more informed decisions and better assess potential safety risks.
Could impact resale value and buyer confidence. Sellers may see changes in market value for certain helicopter models with more incident reports, while buyers may feel more secure knowing they have access to official safety data before purchase.
Aligns with consumer protection trends. By mandating disclosure of safety history, the bill brings helicopter sales in line with practices already common in automobile and real estate transactions, aiming to reduce information asymmetry between buyers and sellers.
Potentially improves overall aviation safety. Increased awareness of incident patterns by both buyers and sellers could pressure manufacturers to address recurring safety issues and encourage safer operation and maintenance practices.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Disclose Helicopter Incident History
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to transportation
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8157
IN SENATE
April 13, 2020
Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring certain notices to be provided when selling a helicopter
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 243-a to read as follows:
§ 243-a. Sale of helicopters. No person shall sell a helicopter within the state without providing to the purchaser a notice which contains all incidents reported within the past ten years by the national transportation safety bureau or the federal aviation administration involving the make and model, or a substantially similar make and model, of such helicopter.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15403-01-0
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring certain notices to be provided when selling a helicopter
Purpose
This legislation would require those who sell helicopters in New York State to provide the purchaser with a notice that contains all the inci- dents reports filed with the National Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Aviation Administration involving the same make and model within the past ten years.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one adds a new section to the general business law that would require those who sell helicopters in New York State to provide the purchaser with a notice that contains all the incidents reports filed with the National Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Aviation Administration involving the same make and model, or a substantially similar model, within the past ten years.
Section two establishes the effective date.
Justification
This bill aims to make those who decide to purchase helicopters in New York State safer. On January 9th, 2020, Mark Croce and Michael Capriotto lost their lives in a tragic helicopter accident when operating the Robinson R44, the world's best-selling civilian helicopter.
While the helicopter was new, with records showing the Robinson R66 Turbine helicopter was both built and purchased in 2019, according to the report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board the heli- copter started falling apart in the sky before it crashed. The report stated that the helicopter experienced an "in-flight break-up" before crashing.
The Robinson R44 has been involved in 42 fatal crashes in the U.S. from 2006 to 2016, more than any other civilian helicopter, according to an analysis of National Transportation Safety Board accident reports. According to the LA Times in-depth report on the Robinson R44, that translates to 1.6 deadly accidents per 100,000 hours flown - a rate nearly 50% higher than any other of the dozen most common civilian models whose flight hours are tracked by the Federal Aviation Adminis- tration. While the FAA determines the course of action moving forward, they have been slow to address certain features that many experts believe contributed to accidents.
Many survivors and their families were completely unaware of these safe- ty issues. This bill aims to make sure that consumers are aware of any safety issues with helicopters they purchase within New York State and that they can make an informed decision. This legislation will make sure consumers are aware, prior to an accident, of any potential safety issues.
Legislative history
New legislation
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
The thirtieth day after it shall have become a law
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.