Crowded airspace

One way or another, there will be new rules governing air traffic in the crowded skies above New York City along the Hudson River.

Following a midair collision between a single-engine plane and a touring helicopter Aug. 8, which killed nine people, the Federal Aviation Administration has gone to work.

There will be training programs for pilots, air-traffic controllers and tourist helicopter operators who use the airspace.

Speed limits will be set for the corridor and all pilots will be required to tune to the same radio channel, the New York Times reports.

The FAA selected a panel to recommend regulations for the complex airway that has been called the Wild West. The National Transportation Safety Board has suggested steps as well.

Lawmakers from New York and New Jersey have provided ideas to the FAA as well. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-Manhattan, called the agency's new rules "fundamentally inadequate." Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wants the FAA "to go back to the drawing board and put in the necessary additions to keep the corridor safe."

Mr. Nadler seeks a cockpit device that sounds a warning when another aircraft flies too close. The FAA's plan would create three airspace corridors for a variety of aircraft and purposes. Sounds complicated.

If anything, regulators and rulemakers should error on the side of safety.