Helicopter tours of NYC have a controversial and deadly history
A Spanish family who boarded a sightseeing helicopter in New York City were promised an 'experience you don't want to miss' and "an industry-leading safety record" by New York Helicopter.
Instead, the flight ended in tragedy when the aircraft plunged into the Hudson River.
Tech executive Agustin Escobar was among the six killed in the April 10 crash, the company confirmed. Escobar's family ‒ including 3 children ‒ died in the crash, as well as the helicopter's pilot.
The deaths made worldwide headlines and brought renewed attention to the controversial helicopter tourism industry in New York.
The industry sends some 30,000 flights over the Big Apple every year. But residents have decried the helicopters as a nuisance and occasionally some flights have also faced a deadly end.
New York Helicopter Tours CEO Michael Roth said he was 'devastated' by the crash.
'I haven't seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business,' Roth said to the New York Post about a video showing the helicopter careening into the water. '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.'
More: Helicopter crash into NYC's Hudson River kills 6 on sightseeing tour
At least 32 people died in New York City helicopter crashes between 1977 and 2019, according to an Associated Press report. The latest crash brings the total to 38.
In March, tour company FlyNYON paid a share of a settlement in a lawsuit for $90 million, reports say. The suit was brought by the relatives of a man who died when a helicopter crashed and sank into the East River in 2018. The helicopter was owned and operated by Liberty Helicopters, which was also found liable in the lawsuit.
The tragedy led to an FAA ban on open-door flights. The five passengers on board drowned after the helicopter rolled over into the water as they were trapped by safety harnesses they were wearing at the time. Pilot Richard Vance was the only survivor.
The crash was the third in 11 years for Liberty Helicopters, leading Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer to call upon federal authorities to suspend the company's license. Liberty Helicopters is still operating, according to a company website.
Another Liberty Helicopters chopper went down in 2009 after crashing with a private plane. All nine people on both aircraft — a pilot and five passengers in the helicopter and a pilot and two passengers in the plane — died in the midair crash.
In 2019, a chopper slammed into the roof of a Manhattan building and burst into flames. Timothy McCormack, the pilot of the eight-seat, twin-engine helicopter, died. He was the only person on board the aircraft.
More: With 6 dead in New York, a look at notable fatal helicopter crashes in recent US history
Most of the nonessential helicopter flights that take off every year in New York City don't end in tragedy. (Sightseeing flights are considered nonessential.)
But even a successful flight can be controversial. Because such flights must fly at a low altitude to avoid airplanes, they add to the din of an already loud city for many New Yorkers.
Residents opposed to the aircraft have scored some victories. Sightseeing helicopter flights are only allowed to leave from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport and only Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; although commuter and other flights are allowed to leave from the island's two other heliports as well.
Sightseeing flights must follow a prescribed route, generally around the bottom of Manhattan, around Liberty Island (home to the Statue of Liberty) and along the Hudson River. Designated routes were created in 2009 following the deadly mid-air collision of the Liberty Helicopters chopper with a private plane that left nine dead.
Tours leaving from Manhattan are not allowed to fly over land, though flights originating from the other New York City airports do not have such restrictions, the New York City Council website said.
Efforts to ban or limit tourist flights have been ongoing for at least 15 years. Stop the Chop, a group organized to reduce helicopter noise, has been agitating for several years to ban nonessential helicopters from flying over the New York metropolitan area.
In 2010 city officials banned short, four to eight minute tours around Manhattan. Today most flights are between 12 and 30 minutes. Flights on Sundays were also banned in 2016 at Stop The Chop's urging.
Congressional Representatives, including several from the city, introduced the Safe and Quiet Skies Act in 2023. The law would have directed the FAA to strictly regulate sightseeing flights by requiring them to fly at a higher altitude and be no louder than 55 decibels over occupied areas.
It did not pass then but politicians who introduced the bill are raising the issue again in light of Thursday's crash.
'This heartbreaking incident was not only devastating — it was foreseeable,' said Representative Jerry Nadler. 'For years, I have raised concerns about the dangers posed by non-essential helicopter flights over our city's densely populated neighborhoods and congested airspace. One of the busiest skies in the nation remains largely unregulated, governed by outdated visual flight rules and minimal oversight.'
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NYC helicopter crash follows years of controversy for tourist flights
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