News: Update on Helicopter Crash
(Long Island, N.Y.) Since Tuesday’s helicopter crash that left one person dead after being submerged in the East River, authorities on the case have conducted an extensive investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board has listened to logs, and along with the Federal Aviation Administration, has temporarily closed specific heliports. A crane was used to pull the intact aircraft from the water four hours after the crash to be examined by officials at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
According to reports, the destination of the helicopter was seventeen miles away from its starting point. The aircraft was eventually discovered upside down underwater, and was later transported by the Army Corp of Engineers. There was no immediate sign of devastating mechanical failures.
Reports stated that the National Transportation Safety Board has initially determined that there has been no engine failure. There have also been no signs that birds have caused the crash, as they did in the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson incident. The alleged weight capacity of the aircraft is 3200 pounds and seventy-six gallons of fuel.
Some believe that the helicopter had been carrying too much weight at the time of the collision, but sources claimed that there were only forty-four gallons of fuel onboard. In the event that authorities eliminate engine failure as a source of the crash, attention will be focused on the pilot and weather as potential causes. The wind factor and human error will be considered when determining what led to the collision.
Reports stated that the National Weather Service announced the highest wind gusts for Tuesday were around fifteen miles-per-hour out of the south. The flight record will be analyzed, and the Federal Aviation Administration has already determined that the pilot had a clean record and license. The aircraft was allegedly cleared for takeoff prior to traveling two days ago.
The victim of the crash was celebrating her fortieth birthday this week. She was the daughter of two of the injured passengers. The Long Island pilot claimed that he started having trouble fifteen feet above the takeoff spot and as he was making a forty-five-degree right turn; he tried to turn left but the area was too populated.
