Helicopter crash in New York’s Hudson River leaves six dead
NEW YORK: Three adults and three children died when their helicopter crashed into New York’s Hudson River on Thursday, the city’s mayor said.
“At this time, all six victims have been removed from the water. And sadly, all six victims have been pronounced deceased,” New York Mayor Eric Adams told a briefing.
The New York Helicopters tour aircraft departed at 2:59pm and later lost control, hitting the water upside down near Lower Manhattan at around 3:15pm and becoming submerged in the river, officials said.
The pilot, another two adults and three children were on board, an official told reporters.
New York City Police divers and FDNY divers helped remove the victims from the water. Four were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were taken to area hospitals where they succumbed to their injuries. The helicopter hit the water inverted, officials said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the helicopter was a Bell 206. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation.
Images showed the chopper’s landing skids protruding from the river beside Manhattan’s West Side Highway as several boats clustered around the impact site.
Police from both New York and New Jersey, which lies on the opposite side of the river from Manhattan, were at the scene along with fire service vessels.
NBC4 reported that its own helicopter was unable to take off due to conditions, with Thursday’s weather in New York described as windy and overcast.
Witnesses told the outlet that the main rotor blade had come loose from the aircraft.
Aircraft tracking service FlightRadar24 reported that, based on air traffic control data, the helicopter was likely a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV.
The river is a busy shipping channel and was the scene of a dramatic 2009 incident when a US Airways jet safely landed in the water. All 155 people on board survived in an event dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson.”
The river is as deep as 200 feet (60 metres) in parts, and images of the helicopter appeared to show flotation devices deployed on the aircraft’s skids.
The average temperature of the river is 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) at this time of year, according to the US Geological Survey.
There is a heliport close to the Hudson Yards development, but it was unclear whether the aircraft was heading to or from the facility.
“Due to a helicopter crash in the Hudson River, in the vicinity of the West Side Highway and Spring Street, expect emergency vehicles and traffic delays in the surrounding areas,” the New York Police Department said in a statement.
A fire service spokesperson said: “We got the call at 3:17 pm (1917 GMT)” about a “helicopter in the water,” but was unable to provide further information.
New Jersey State Police did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
There have been around 30 helicopter crashes in New York since 1980, Brooklyn Borough President Mark Levine told reporters, calling for tighter restrictions on helicopter traffic in the city.
