News: Helicopter Crashes into East River
(Long Island, N.Y.) A Southampton pilot operating a Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter crashed into the East River Tuesday afternoon. Despite calm flight conditions, the incident left one passenger dead and three others injured. The aircraft began having major malfunctions shortly after taking off from the East 34th heliport.
Reports stated that a British woman was killed in the crash and that three other tourists were injured. All of the guests were friends of the pilot’s family, and two women remain hospitalized in critical condition. The male passenger was placed in stable condition, and the pilot suffered no injuries from the collision after being hospitalized and released.
The helicopter ride began as an intended tour above Manhattan for the tourists who had been visiting from Portugal and Australia. According to reports, some of the tourists had been celebrating a birthday party and were given a trip to New York City as a gift. The group planned to dine at the destination of Linden, New Jersey where the pilot managed a municipal airport.
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot and three of the guests found themselves floating adjacent to the helicopter in the gray waters of the East River. Reports stated that two of them had been pulled out to safety by the pilot as one remained trapped inside the submerged aircraft. The pilot allegedly indicated to emergency responders during the rescue that a woman was still inside.
Prior to takeoff the helicopter had undergone a maintenance check, and the experienced pilot had already completed a successful emergency landing. In November of 2006 he landed a single-engine Cessna 172 near Coney Island and suffered no injuries. He claimed that he had to put the aircraft down in a muddy field.
Tuesday’s crash occurred just a few blocks from the United Nations Headquarters and witnesses were able to throw life vests into the water as the pilot swam to shore. Some described the aircraft as having traveled in circles before flipping over while the pilot attempted to return to the heliport. It spun uncontrollably before crashing; the trapped passenger, who had been declared dead at the scene, was later pulled from fifty feet of water.
According to reports, the destination of the helicopter was just seventeen miles away from the starting point. Fire Department paramedics and members of the police force also aided in pulling the passengers to shore. The officers had been participating in a counterterrorism drill and had helped to find the trapped woman completely submerged wearing no buckled seatbelt in the backseat of the helicopter.
