{"id":60461,"date":"2018-03-12T05:04:30","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T05:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=60461"},"modified":"2018-03-12T05:04:30","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T05:04:30","slug":"2-dead-3-hurt-helicopter-crashes-east-river-pilot-frees-escapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/2-dead-3-hurt-helicopter-crashes-east-river-pilot-frees-escapes.html","title":{"rendered":"2 dead, 3 hurt after helicopter crashes into East River as pilot frees himself and escapes"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 dead, 3 hurt after helicopter crashes into East River as pilot frees himself and escapes<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

A helicopter chartered for a photo shoot plunged into the East River Sunday evening, killing two passengers in a devastating crash that was caught on video.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three passengers were also hurt during the 11-minute flight and listed in critical condition. The pilot escaped alive, and emerged from the frigid water desperately yelling for help.<\/span><\/p>\n

Footage of the deadly incident, which was posted on social media before the deaths were confirmed, showed the copter progressively losing altitude until it slammed into the water, bounced and tilted over.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMayday, mayday, mayday.\u201d the frantic pilot called to an air traffic controller moments before the splash landing. \u201cEngine failure. We’ve got an engine failure over the East River.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For a few seconds, the rotors sliced into the water until the helicopter went under with six people, including the pilot, still trapped inside.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were six people on the helicopter,\u201d said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. \u201cThe pilot freed himself. The other five did not. The police, fire divers entered the water and removed the other five.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The FDNY responded within five minutes, the commissioner said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe pilot is OK,\u201d Nigro said. \u201cHe went to the hospital to be checked out, but he was able to get out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Police Commissioner James O\u2019Neill said the passengers had chartered the helicopter for a photo shoot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials said the copter sank in about 50 feet of water in the middle of the river, near E. 89th St. and Roosevelt Island. The current was moving at 4 mph.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a while for the divers to get these people out. They worked very quickly, as fast as they could,\u201d Nigro said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigro said the harnesses designed to be worn for safety may have actually hindered the passengers\u2019 escape. First responders were not only operating in frigid water, but they were working against time inside a helicopter that by the time they arrived had turned upside down.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe pilot freed himself, was taken by one of our fire boats ashore and was out on an ambulance,\u201d Nigro added. \u201cOne of the most difficult parts of the operation, we\u2019re told, is the five people besides the pilot were all tightly harnessed, so these harnesses had to be removed in order to get these folks off of this helicopter, which was upside down at the time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials said the chopper was owned by New Jersey-based Liberty Helicopter Tours.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Kearny sightseeing operation was involved with a midair collision over the Hudson River in August 2009 that claimed the lives of six people on the helicopter, including the pilot. Three more people were killed on the single-engine aircraft it hit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investigators concluded that the helicopter was flying too high and the pilot of the Piper PA-32R was distracted by a Teterboro Airport dispatcher and failed to see the chopper, according to National Transportation Safety Board records.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2007, a helicopter with the same company crashed into the Hudson during a tour of the city. An off-duty EMT on board the aircraft helped the passengers escape.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials said it was too early to determine what caused Sunday\u2019s crash.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amateur video shows the commercial helicopter crashing into the water, its rotor still spinning, and then overturn.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust witnessed a helicopter crash into the East River … hope everyone\u2019s ok,\u201d wrote Twitter user @JJmagers, who posted the video online just after 7:15 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brianna Jesme, 22, who witnessed the afternoon crash, said, \u201cIt sort of landed sideways and then it flipped over. There was a good solid minute that no one came out of the helicopter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She added, \u201cWe didn\u2019t know if it was supposed to be happening. Once it went down, we realized that it wasn\u2019t supposed to happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The NYPD\u2019s aviation and harbor unit rushed to the scene, as did the FDNY\u2019s harbor unit, sending divers to search for the helicopter\u2019s occupants.<\/span><\/p>\n

A privately operated tugboat managed to rescue the pilot, authorities said. Police and fire recovered the five passengers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was completely submerged,\u201d another eyewitness Celia Skvaril, 23, said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t see the helicopter anymore and then a yellow raft popped up, and again we didn\u2019t see or hear anyone until we saw a person on top of the raft screaming and yelling for help and waving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a pretty hard hit and then it flipped over.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Manhattan resident Tuan-Lung Wang saw the scene unfold from his window.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome unexpected scene to see when you have a east river view in your room,\u201d Wang tweeted. \u201c20 min ago, my wife and I were chilling in our room enjoying the river view. Then we saw a flying object gradually landing on water. We thought it’s a helicopter, but we were not sure. So we called 911.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/new-york\/nyc-crime\/2-dead-helicopter-crashes-east-river-article-1.3868758<\/span><\/p>\n

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