NYC helicopter that crashed into Hudson didn’t have recording units on board, NTSB says – NBC New York
Federal investigators say the sightseeing helicopter carrying a pilot and household of 5 visiting from Spain that crashed into the Hudson River final week was not outfitted with any recording units.
In a written assertion launched over the weekend, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board stated, “No onboard video recorders or digicam recorders have been recovered and not one of the helicopter avionics onboard recorded info that could possibly be used for the investigation.”
Divers from the NYPD continued their search into Sunday for the helicopter’s primary rotor, primary gear field, tail rotor and enormous portion of the tail growth, in response to the NTSB. Since Thursday’s crash, the primary fuselage, together with the cockpit and cabin, in addition to the ahead portion of the tail growth and have been recovered from the river.
The Bell 206 L-4 helicopter flown by New York Helicopter Constitution Inc., had acquired a “main inspection” again on March 1, the NTSB stated. The chopper was in the midst of its eighth flight of the day on the time of the crash.
NTSB
NTSB
NTSB crew surveying the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 close to Jersey Metropolis, New Jersey.
The helicopter took off from a downtown heliport at round 3 p.m. and flew north alongside the Manhattan skyline earlier than heading south towards the Statue of Liberty. Lower than 18 minutes into the flight, components of the plane had been seen tumbling into the water.
Witnesses described seeing the helicopter’s tail and primary rotor breaking away and smoke pouring from the spinning chopper earlier than it slammed into the water.
Michael Roth, who owns the helicopter firm, New York Helicopter, informed The New York Publish that he does not know what went incorrect with the plane.
“The one factor I do know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the primary rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,” he stated, noting that he had by no means seen such a factor occur in his 30 years within the enterprise, however that, “These are machines, they usually break.”
The victims included passengers Agustin Escobar, 49, his spouse, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39, and their three kids, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10. Mercedes would have turned 9 on Friday, officers stated.
The pilot was Seankese Johnson, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran who acquired his business pilot’s license in 2023. He had logged about 800 hours of flight time as of March, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the Nationwide Transportation Security Board, informed reporters Friday.
The Hudson crash is bringing contemporary scrutiny to the security of personal helicopter flights round New York Metropolis. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff stories.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, at a Sunday morning information convention, referred to as on the Federal Aviation Administration to suspended New York Helicopter’s license till the feds have accomplished their investigation of the crash.
“One of many issues we are able to do to honor these lives is to try to save others, as a result of if there’s one factor we all know for certain about New York Metropolis’s helicopter tour corporations: they’ve a lethal observe report, and it’s often the businesses—not the pilots—which might be brazenly manipulating federal FAA guidelines, chopping corners and placing income over individuals,” the New York Democrat stated.
