A BELL-206 PLT IS AIR INTERCEPTED 15 NM FROM MANHATTAN BY POLICE HELIS WHEN ATTEMPTING HIS FIRST FLT INTO NYC SQUAWKING 1200 ON HIS XPONDER; FORCED TO LAND AT FLOYD BENNET; NY.

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WE ARE A VFR ONLY; PART 135 OPERATOR (HELI) IN THE NEW YORK AREA. WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK OCCURRED ONE MONTH AGO AND THE RESULTING TFR'S AND NOTAMS ARE CHANGING DAILY. IT'S HARD FOR EVERYONE; INCLUDING CTLRS; TO DECIPHER AND IMPLEMENT THIS INFO WITH REGARDS TO A PARTICULAR FLT. SOME CTLRS WANT US ON AN IFR FLT PLAN; OTHERS WANT VFR. ALL WE WANT TO DO IS THE RIGHT THING. EACH DAY BRINGS A NEW PROC AND NEW APPREHENSION. ON OCT/FRI/01; THE NYC HELIPORTS WERE FINALLY ACCESSIBLE WITH THE REMOVAL OF FDC NOTAM #1/1984. THEY STILL RESIDE WITHIN THE 25 NM RESTR AROUND JFK; AND THE ENHANCED CLASS B AREA. FOR THE FIRST DAY OR SO CONFUSION WAS KING! ON OCT/MON/01; I HAD THE DISTINCT PLEASURE OF BEING THE FIRST HELI TO TRY A TRIP TO NYC. I FILED A FLT PLAN (VFR) FROM TEB TO H366 (SEABRIGHT; NJ) TO JRB (WALL ST; HELIPORT). (PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAD FLOWN A FEW TRIPS IN THE PREVIOUS WEEKS TO OTHER LOCATIONS BUT NOT NYC -- NOTAM 1/1984 STILL IN EFFECT). TETERBORO LOST MY FLT PLAN SO I EXPLAINED MY EXACT INTENTIONS TO CLRNC DELIVERY. SHE PRONOUNCED THAT I WAS 'VFR' AND NEEDED ONLY TO SQUAWK 1200 AND PROCEED OUTBOUND ON THE 'SIERRA' RTE (SEBOUND). I REPEATED MY ENTIRE ROUTE TO HER JUST TO MAKE SURE AND SHE ASSURED ME THAT HER INSTRUCTIONS WERE SUFFICIENT. MY INSTINCTS TOLD ME OTHERWISE -- BUT IT WAS A NEW SIT -- NO IFR -- SO I WENT AHEAD AND DID WHAT I WAS TOLD. I CALLED THE TOWER AND HE CLRED ME FOR THE SIERRA RTE OUTBOUND. FIVE MILES LATER I CLRED THE CLASS D; CHECKED OUT WITH THE TOWER AND PROCEEDED ON MY TRIP. AFTER THE PAX PICK-UP IN SEABRIGHT (H366) WE HEADED N TO WALL ST HELIPORT (JRB). WELL I DID NOT MAKE IT. I WAS INTERCEPTED BY TWO NYPD HELIS AND ORDERED TO LAND AT THEIR FACILITY ON FLOYD BENNETT FIELD; NY. IT SEEMS TRACON AND KENNEDY ARPT WANTED TO TALK TO ME. THEY DID NOT LIKE THE '1200' CODE IN MY XPONDER. THE ENTIRE AREA IS ON EDGE WITH WHAT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ON ANOTHER CODE AND TALKING TO RADAR. WHEN I INFORMED THEM OF MY INSTRUCTIONS FROM TETERBORO (AND MY HESITANCE TO ACCEPT THESE INSTRUCTIONS) THEY REALIZED THAT TETERBORO WAS NOT UP TO SPEED YET AND SHOULD NOT HAVE LET ME GO INTO THE AIRSPACE WITH A 1200 CODE (TETERBORO IS WITHIN THE 25 NM TFR OF JFK -- WHICH APPLIES TO PART 91 ACFT NOT ME; PART 135). ALL WAS EVENTUALLY STRAIGHTENED OUT OVER THE PHONE BUT IT WAS NERVE-WRACKING. AGAIN -- WE ALL WANT TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT. NOTAMS MUST BE WRITTEN BY LAWYERS; TOO BAD IT'S THE REAL PEOPLE; PILOTS AND CTLRS WHO HAVE TO FIGURE THEM OUT!