Deadly crash raises new questions about safety of New York's helicopter tours
NEW YORK, April 12, (AP): A helicopter ride giving a thrilling sweep of Manhattan's iconic skyline has long been on the to-do list for New York City tourists of means. For several hundred dollars, tour companies fly passengers high above the rivers that encircle the city, showcasing a stunning, bird's-eye view of the Statue of Liberty, One World Trade Center and other monumental landmarks.
But Thursday's crash that killed a family of five visiting from Spain and the helicopter's pilot, a Navy SEAL veteran, has renewed concerns about the safety of the popular sightseeing excursions. Since 2005, five helicopters on commercial sightseeing flights have fallen into the Hudson and East rivers as a result of mechanical failures, pilot errors or collisions, killing 20 people.
Longtime opponents have revived calls to ban or limit 'nonessential' helicopter flights, including the roughly 30,000 sightseeing rides over the city each year.
Mayor Eric Adams on Friday said he doesn't support further restrictions on the aircraft, saying they're crucial for everything from transporting Wall Street executives to police work, and that tens of thousands of tourist flights happen each year with no problems.
'People want to see the city from the sky,' he said on WINS radio, though he added that 'it must be done right.' The Democrat said the city's airspace is highly regulated, pilots are well-trained and the aircraft are well maintained. Not everyone has his level of comfort.
'Personally, I don't go on them,' Al Yurman, a former investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said of helicopter tours. 'I feel like the industry doesn't look after itself the way it should.' Tourist flights seemed like they might be in jeopardy after a disaster in 2009, when a Liberty Helicopters sightseeing flight carrying Italian visitors collided with a private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine.
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