Tourist helicopter crashes into New York’s Hudson River; all 6 including pilot killed

Video of the crash showed what appeared to be a large object plunging into the river, followed seconds later by what appeared to be a helicopter blade. Afterwards, emergency and police boats were seen circling around a patch of river where the helicopter was submerged, with only what appeared to be the aircraft’s landing gear poking above the water’s surface.

Hudson River Helicopter crash @fox5ny @ABC7 @NBCNewYork @CBSNewYork @njdotcom @News12NJ @CNN @cnnbrk

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How did it crash?

The Bell 206 chopper was operated by New York Helicopter Tours, city Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Thousands of these choppers have been manufactured over the years for a variety of uses after it was initially developed for the US Army.

The flight which began at a downtown heliport around 3 pm along the Manhattan skyline and then back south toward the Statue of Liberty lasted less than 18 minutes.

It turned south when it reached the George Washington Bridge and crashed minutes later, hitting the water upside down and getting submerged near Lower Manhattan at around 3.15 pm, just off New Jersey’s Hoboken, Tisch added.

Photos posted on the helicopter company’s website showed the couple and their children smiling as they boarded just before the flight took off.

Recovery crews hoisted the mangled helicopter out of the water just after 8 pm using a floating crane. It is possible the helicopter’s main rotors struck the tail boom, breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free fall, said Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps.

Videos suggest it was a “catastrophic mechanical failure” which left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter, he added.

Crowded Manhattan airspace

The airspace around Manhattan is crowded with helicopters offering tourists a bird’s-eye view of the sights, with at least two dozen operators listed on the website Viator. Many of the operators also offer helicopter shuttle services to the area airports.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to lead the investigation with investigate the incident the Federal Aviation Administration .

New York City has a history of accidents involving helicopters. In 2018, five passengers aboard a helicopter died when it crashed into the East River, while the pilot survived. The helicopter was on a charter flight that featured an open door to allow passengers to take photographs of the skyline.

Helicopter safety has been a topic of discussion in the US Congress after 67 people were killed in a crash between an American Airlines regional jet and Army helicopter on January 29 near the Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport.

The FAA has since permanently restricted helicopter traffic near the airport and is reviewing helicopter operations near other major airports. At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977.  Thursday’s crash was the first for a helicopter in the city since one hit the roof of a skyscraper in 2019, killing the pilot.

What the chopper company said?

No one answered the phones at the New York Helicopters’ offices in New York and New Jersey, as per officials.

A person who answered the phone at the home of the company’s owner, Michael Roth, declined to comment. Roth told the New York Post he was devastated and had “no clue” why the crash happened.

“The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,” he was quoted as saying.

“These are machines, and they break,” Roth said, claiming that he had not seen such a thing happen during his 30 years in the helicopter business.

— With inputs from AP, Reuters, The Washington Post