FAA issues emergency order grounding NYC tour company after fatal helicopter crash
April 15 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency order grounding the New York City tour company whose helicopter crashed in the Hudson River last week, killing all six on board.
The FAA issued its order Monday as the National Transportation Safety Board announced that divers have recovered the aircraft's main rotor system, which authorities say will shed light on how the Bell 206 helicopter crashed Thursday afternoon into the Hudson.
Video of the crash widely circulated online shows debris being ejected into the air as the rotorless helicopter body crashes upside down into the water.
The victims have been identified as pilot Seankese Johnson and passengers Agustin Escobar, a senior executive with Siemens, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children.
The FAA emergency grounding order comes a day after it announced that the helicopter operator, New York City Helicopter Tours, had shut down operations on Sunday.
FAA Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau said the agency implemented the order "in part because after the company's director of operations voluntarily shut down flights, he was fired."
A comprehensive review of New York City Helicopter Tours' operations, known as a Certificate Holder Evaluation Program, has begun to determine whether it complied with all applicable regulations and effectively managed safety, identified hazards and mitigated risks, Rocheleau said.
Meanwhile, the NTSB has been working to retrieve the helicopter wreckage for the river, and said in a statement that divers with the New York Police Department, who were working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Jersey City, were able to recover and secure the helicopter's main rotor system, including the transmission and roof beam, as well as the tail rotor system.
"The evidence will be taken to a secure location for further examination," the NTSB said in a statement. It is also calling on members of the public who may have video or photos of any aspect of the incident to send them to witness@ntsb.gov.
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