ctt447

A lot of work went into the new ladder truck purchase in Maywood, including countless hours by the truck committee measuring out setbacks, outrigger measurements, placement along our business district with parked vehicles, etc. Frankly, considering average manpower is 3-4 guys for the truck to roll, the spec takes into consideration how to do more with less manpower and make it an aggressive piece of apparatus. Rochelle Park has a KME engine on order as well, pre-construction trip was this past week. Anticipated delivery end of 2017.

ground ladders anyone?

Was just wondering if anyone had any specific incident information? (one car mva, into the woods, overturned, how many occupants, etc, etc?) Heard it was a two hour extrication. Thanks

FAR Part 139 states, certified airports are required to include in their airport emergency plan, to the extent practicable, provisions for the rescue of aircraft accident victims from significant bodies of water or marsh lands which are situated adjacent to the airports and lie beneath the approach and departure flight paths of air carriers. As they already had owned boats that carried life preservers for the largest planes that landed at the airports from about 15 to 20 years ago, they had set a precedent by having the capability.

The Port Authority Police at JFK and LGA had one boat each to respond in the event of a plane accident in the surrounding waterways of the airports prior to the "Moose Boats." Those boats did not carry the needed life safety equipment to handle the current passenger capacity of the largest planes using JFK and LGA. FAR Part 139 states, certified airports are required to include in their airport emergency plan, to the extent practicable, provisions for the rescue of aircraft accident victims from significant bodies of water or marsh lands which are situated adjacent to the airports and lie beneath the approach and departure flight paths of air carriers. The "Moose Boats" were replacing existing boats that had reached the end of their life as well.

Just to be clear, I am 100 percent in agreement with the replies to my post. I didn't do a good job on pulling my thoughts together in a conclusion, but the bottom line is it was under utilized and buried in politics. As far as the TFO - PO Assigned for each flight....I agree it's necesarry, but the model was broken since there wasn't always a PO assigned or available to the helicopter. Just trying to illustrate one of the problems that added to the capability. And I just want to be very clear on one point...regardless on the end result of the helicopter being shut down, since it was placed under the control of the police department it has never been used as a corporate taxi. I was just trying to clear up some misinformation on here and add some facts that led to the units demise.

First and formost, a good part of this thread has been based on assumptions and personal thoughts...very little facts. The elimination of the Port Authority Airborne Services Unit cost people jobs. Let's remember that when you are all saying kudos and good work to the Port Authority. What none of you seem to realize is that all of the jobs lost; pilots, maintenance staff/ground crew, and supervisor were civilian positions. The helicopters did not support local or county law enforcement activities routinely, that statement is correct. But the reason why is something none of you asked. It wasn't because they didn't want to help you, but because of the politics within the Port Authority. If a local municipality needed the PAPD helicopter, it had to be approved by two chiefs, deupty supt. and the supt in some cases. However, whenever it WAS ASKED to assist, they would be on station immediatly and stay as long as you needed them. Do you know that the leaders at the Port Authority eliminated any flights after 6pm over three years ago,essentialy making it a daytime service only? Do you know that due to PAPD Union contract that anytime the helicopter went up in the air, a PAPD police officer had to be on? So when there are only 5 poice officers assigned to Teterboro airport, if they were tied up on something and a request came in for the helicopter, it could not go up until an officer responded to the helicopter. While the helicopters might seem lavish to some, they posess some of the most state of the art technology and capabilities available on any air platform in the region. They were specifically designed to support the entire Port District and not just one or two facilities. If a police officer at the GWB did not know of their existence then obviously they were sleeping during their time in academy. The helicopter supported numerous incidents and daily events at PA facilities. Regarding the civilian vehicle, this is one of only two vechicles assigned to the helicopter unit...one at Teterboro and one at Wall Street Heliport. Both are used for business purposes to transport parts, employees, or set up on the spot LZ's. They are not emergency response vehicles as has been eluded too. And by the way, all PA civilian employees who use lights/sirens as part of their job responsibilities go through the proper training. Finally, regarding PAPD ESU, anyone who thinks they are jumping calls or out of their jurisdictions your chief or officer in charge should take it up with them on scene. It's funny how many times you hear this mentioned but yet no one can give specific examples. If they are so poorly regarded then how come the State of NJ recognized the PAPD ESU as the only law enforcement agency to participate in the UASI USAR Task Force as a full member? Guess what...the 9 largest departments in Northern NJ had to vote on the inclusion of PAPD ESU and no one said no. PAPD ESU has been around for almost 30 years, they are not something new. However, you see an awful lot of towns and counties starting "ESU's" because they recieved some grant funding but don't have the training or personnel to maintain it. I don't see anyone complaining about that though. Rembemer, the Port Authority Police have bi-state police powers and are responsbile for patrol and response for a 25 mile radius from the State of Liberty.