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Uber's Short-lived Helicopter Service In Utah Grounded (ksl.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the and-stay-down dept.

New submitter captaindomon writes: It may come as no surprise that the Uber helicopter flights which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival were apparently illegal and quickly grounded. "Thanks to the support and partnership we have with Sundance and Park City Municipal Corporation, we were able to come to an agreement," said Summit County spokeswoman Katie Mullaly. "We are glad to have this issue resolved, not only for the safety of all those involved, but also for the wildlife of the area, affected residents and environmental concerns."

3 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. They're still running... outdated story by _Sharp'r_ · · Score: 3, Informative

    The issue was the landing site wasn't properly approved for helicopter landings. Fortunately, the local officials are reasonable and Uber made an agreement with the County to use the Sheriff's landing pad instead so that flights could continue during the festival.

    From a follow-up story: "Thanks to the county's proactive outreach, we have developed an alternative landing site for uberCHOPPER that serves riders and accommodates residents," Patterson said.

    --
    The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
    1. Re:They're still running... outdated story by gavron · · Score: 4, Informative

      You are correct. His "followup" story does predate.

      THEY ARE GROUNDED. NO FLIGHTS. Not to the Sheriff's pad. Not to private pads. Nowhere.

      Grounded.

      E

  2. compelling, but mistaken. FAA says local CAN regul by raymorris · · Score: 4, Informative

    You make a compelling argument, but you happen to be mistaken. See sections 113 and 114 in this FAA advisory. State and local governments can regulate helipads, via zoning or otherwise.

    http://www.faa.gov/documentlib...

    The FCC is more like what you imagine the FAA to be. Specifically, as noted in that FAA advisory, the FAA is legally charged with the SAFETY of air travel only. This is in contrast to the FCC, which has wide authority over anything related to radio spectrum. The ATF is somewhat the opposite- you have to certify your explosives storage complies with local and state law BEFORE they'll start the federal process.