Doomed NYC helicopter starred in company's safety inspection video
The chopper, a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV, came apart midair Thursday afternoon and plummeted into the water upside down near the shoreline of Jersey City, New Jersey, killing a Spanish family of five and the aircraft's Navy SEAL veteran pilot.
The helicopter's main and tail rotor detached from the body of the aircraft and could be seen splashing into the water separately, eyewitness video shows. The exact cause of the crash has yet to be determined.
The helicopter, registration number N216MH, was operated by New York Helicopters and the firm's website still features a video of the doomed helicopter being checked ahead of a takeoff.
The video is embedded into the company's home page under a section titled "Why Choose Us," and advertises the company's experience, affordability and safety record, among other reasons.
"We have an industry-leading safety record," the website states alongside the video.
The soundless video shows a worker walking toward the black and white colored chopper that has its main rotor blade tied to a dolly.
He then unties the rope from the dolly and walks around the aircraft pulling the main rotor via the rope.
Next, the worker climbs onto the side of the chopper and inspects the engine and drive shaft of the aircraft before hopping into the cockpit where he carries out more checks before starting the engine and taking off.
The Bell 206 was manufactured in 2024 and had already logged 12,728 hours of flight time when it was forced into repair back in September for a mechanical issue with its transmission assembly, the New York Post reports, citing FAA data.
In April 2023, the FAA issued two safety a for all Bell 206L model helicopters.
The FAA said it had identified a risk of tail rotor drive (TRDS) failure caused by a faulty bonded joint in the segmented drive shaft. The FAA recommended replacing any failed tail rotor drive with a compliant, serviceable part and prohibited the installation of non-compliant TRDS parts.
In one chilling video of Thursday's crash, it appears as though the tail rotor had detached before the main rotor.
Michael Roth, the CEO of New York Helicopter Tours, told the New York Post he had not seen anything like it in his 30 years being in the helicopter business.
"The only thing I could guess — I got no clue — is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don't know," he told the outlet. "This is horrific," Roth added. "But you gotta remember something, these are machines and they break."
The company released a statement saying it is "profoundly saddened by the tragic accident and loss of life."
"At New York Helicopter Tours, the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew has always been the cornerstone of our operations," the statement on the firm's website reads. "Our immediate focus is supporting the families and their loved ones affected by this tragedy, as well as fully cooperating with the FAA and NTSB investigations."
It's not the first time a helicopter operated by Roth's company has experienced mechanical problems.
In 2015, another Bell 206 operated by the company was forced to make a hard landing while hovering 20 feet off the ground after taking off in northern New Jersey. In that incident, the chopper experienced a tail rotor driveshaft failure due to the reuse of a faulty part, according to the NTSB.
The part had been painted by a previous owner, making it impossible to tell whether it had been part of the helicopter during the earlier hard landing, the The New York Times reported.
Two years earlier, a Bell 206 operated by the company lost power and made an emergency landing on the water while carrying four Swedish tourists. The pilot deployed the aircraft's pontoons and safely landed on the river.
Thursday's tragedy has prompted Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., to call for the flights to be reined in or stopped altogether.
The crash followed a 2018 fatal incident when a tour helicopter tragically slammed into the East River, killing five passengers. That flight was operated by Liberty Helicopters for FlyNYON.
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