Latest news with #NewYorkHelicopterCharterInc.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FAA grounds helicopter company involved in deadly New York crash
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order grounding the helicopter tour company involved in the deadly crash in New York as federal officials investigate the tragedy. Jason Costello, then-director of operations at New York Helicopter Charter Inc., agreed to shut down operations on April 13 after a Bell 206 helicopter the company operated plunged into the Hudson River, killing six people, according to the FAA. But just sixteen minutes after Costello confirmed this, company CEO Michael Roth fired Costello and told the FAA via email that he did not authorize the halt and that Costello was no longer his employee. 'The immediate firing of the Director of Operations raise serious safety concerns because it appears Mr. Roth retaliated against Mr. Costello for making the safety decision to cease operations during the investigation," FAA officials said in the emergency order, adding that the company no longer has a qualified person serving as director of operations. Roth and someone who answered the phone at New York Helicopter Tours declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY. Attempts to contact Costello were unsuccessful. The helicopter, which is owned by Louisiana-based company Meridian Helicopters LLC, took off at about 3 p.m. April 10 from a heliport in downtown Manhattan for an aerial tour of the city, authorities said. The helicopter crashed about 15 minutes later near Jersey City, New Jersey, officials said. Video of the crash captured the helicopter and a detached rotor descending to the water. The pilot, Seankese Johnson, and passengers Agustin Escobar, his wife and their three children were killed. The crash revived safety concerns about the aerial tourism industry. Helicopter tours in New York have been controversial and in some cases deadly, USA TODAY reported. Records obtained by USA TODAY showed that New York Helicopter Charter Inc. was involved in two earlier safety incidents. The downed helicopter's last major inspection was on March 1, and it completed seven tour flights before the crash, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The FAA is conducting a review, known as a Certificate Holder Evaluation Program, that will determine whether the operator complies with regulations, effectively manages safety, and identifies hazards and risks, Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau said April 14 on X. If the company does not immediately surrender its air-carrier certificate amid the investigation, it could face "further legal enforcement action, including a civil penalty of up to $17,062 a day for each day it fails to surrender the certificate," according to the order. The NTSB also is investigating the crash. Investigators with the agency have met with representatives from New York Helicopter Charter Inc. to review operational records, policies and procedures, safety management systems and the pilot's experience, the agency said April 12. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. Aviation experts have told USA TODAY that footage appears to indicate the helicopter's rotor experienced a catastrophic failure. Contributed: Christopher Cann This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FAA grounds operator of helicopter after New York crash kills six
USA Today
08-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
FAA grounds helicopter company involved in deadly New York crash
FAA grounds helicopter company involved in deadly New York crash The crash revived safety concerns about the aerial tourism industry. Helicopter tours in New York have been controversial and in some cases deadly. Show Caption Hide Caption Helicopter crash in the Hudson revives call for more regulations Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop is asking the FAA to restrict tourism flights citing an already crowded airspace along the Hudson River. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order grounding the helicopter tour company involved in the deadly crash in New York as federal officials investigate the tragedy. Jason Costello, then-director of operations at New York Helicopter Charter Inc., agreed to shut down operations on April 13 after a Bell 206 helicopter the company operated plunged into the Hudson River, killing six people, according to the FAA. But just sixteen minutes after Costello confirmed this, company CEO Michael Roth fired Costello and told the FAA via email that he did not authorize the halt and that Costello was no longer his employee. 'The immediate firing of the Director of Operations raise serious safety concerns because it appears Mr. Roth retaliated against Mr. Costello for making the safety decision to cease operations during the investigation," FAA officials said in the emergency order, adding that the company no longer has a qualified person serving as director of operations. Roth and someone who answered the phone at New York Helicopter Tours declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY. Attempts to contact Costello were unsuccessful. What happened during the crash? The helicopter, which is owned by Louisiana-based company Meridian Helicopters LLC, took off at about 3 p.m. April 10 from a heliport in downtown Manhattan for an aerial tour of the city, authorities said. The helicopter crashed about 15 minutes later near Jersey City, New Jersey, officials said. Video of the crash captured the helicopter and a detached rotor descending to the water. The pilot, Seankese Johnson, and passengers Agustin Escobar, his wife and their three children were killed. The crash revived safety concerns about the aerial tourism industry. Helicopter tours in New York have been controversial and in some cases deadly, USA TODAY reported. Records obtained by USA TODAY showed that New York Helicopter Charter Inc. was involved in two earlier safety incidents. The downed helicopter's last major inspection was on March 1, and it completed seven tour flights before the crash, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Crash under federal investigation The FAA is conducting a review, known as a Certificate Holder Evaluation Program, that will determine whether the operator complies with regulations, effectively manages safety, and identifies hazards and risks, Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau said April 14 on X. If the company does not immediately surrender its air-carrier certificate amid the investigation, it could face "further legal enforcement action, including a civil penalty of up to $17,062 a day for each day it fails to surrender the certificate," according to the order. The NTSB also is investigating the crash. Investigators with the agency have met with representatives from New York Helicopter Charter Inc. to review operational records, policies and procedures, safety management systems and the pilot's experience, the agency said April 12. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. Aviation experts have told USA TODAY that footage appears to indicate the helicopter's rotor experienced a catastrophic failure. Contributed: Christopher Cann
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
New Details Revealed About the Tourist Helicopter That Crashed in N.Y.C. — Including That It Did Not Have a Flight Recorder
New details have been revealed about the tourist helicopter that crashed in New York City earlier this week. In a news release on Saturday, April 12, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the aircraft — which went down on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River on April 10, killing all six people onboard, including the pilot — did not have a black box, an electronic recording device used to investigate aviation incidents. "The helicopter was not equipped with any flight recorders. No onboard video recorders or camera recorders have been recovered, and none of the helicopter avionics onboard recorded information that could be used for the investigation," the NTSB said. The organization added that "investigators met with representatives from the helicopter's operator, New York Helicopter Charter Inc., to review operational records, policies and procedures, safety management systems and the pilot's experience," and the NTSB "also examined two exemplar helicopters." The helicopter involved in the incident, according to the NTSB, had already completed seven tour flights on April 10. During the eight flight of the day is when the aircraft, which had a last major inspection on March 1, crashed. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Related: Couple Next in Line After Family of 5 Dies in Hudson River Helicopter Crash Speaks Out The fatal helicopter crash occurred around 3:15 p.m. local time, shortly after the aircraft took off from downtown N.Y.C. Onboard was pilot Sean Johnson and a family of five — father Agustín Escobar, the chief executive of Siemens' rail infrastructure division in Spain, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children. The NTSB said wreckage from the helicopter, a Bell 206 L-4, "continued to be recovered by divers" on April 12. They added that investigators are also "evaluating the helicopter's flight control system at a secure location." Currently, the organization said "the main fuselage, including the cockpit and cabin, the forward portion of the tail boom, the horizontal stabilizer finlets and the vertical fin have been recovered." Some of these parts, per the NTSB, will go to their Washington, D.C., laboratories "for closer inspection." The transportation group added that New York Police Department (NYPD) divers will continue their recovery operations on Sunday, April 13, hoping to find "the helicopter's main rotor, main gear box, tail rotor and a large portion of the tail boom." The NTSB also said that "side-scanning sonar is being used to identify potential locations of wreckage." The NTSB's investigation, which is being orchestrated alongside the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), remains ongoing. Read the original article on People
USA Today
12-04-2025
- General
- USA Today
What we know about the New York City helicopter crash investigation
What we know about the New York City helicopter crash investigation Six people were killed on April 10 when a sightseeing helicopter plummeted into the Hudson River upside down, officials said. Show Caption Hide Caption Helicopter crash joins deadly history in NYC sightseeing flights The helicopter tourism industry sends about 30,000 flights over New York City each year. Not everyone is a fan of their low altitude and loud noise. Federal authorities have begun their investigation into the deadly crash of a sightseeing helicopter into the Hudson River in New York City on April 10. The chopper plunged into the Hudson River near Jersey City, New Jersey, at about 3:15 p.m. on April 10, killing all six people on board. Video of the crash shows the helicopter careening into the water followed moments later by a detached rotor blade. The National Transportation Safety Board said it would closely examine the wreckage to find out what went wrong. The victims included the pilot and a family of five with three children who were visiting from Spain. Here's what we know about the crash: What happened to the helicopter? The Bell 206 helicopter took off from a heliport in downtown Manhattan the afternoon of April 10 for an aerial tour of the city, said Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB. It was operated by New York Helicopter Charter Inc. and was owned by Meridian Helicopters LLC, based in Louisiana. It flew north over the Hudson, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. It turned south when it reached the George Washington Bridge. It crashed at about 3:15 p.m. and landed upside down in the water near Lower Manhattan, just off Jersey City. Officials haven't determined the cause of the crash, but aviation experts said video of the crash appears to indicate a catastrophic failure of the helicopter's rotor, which was seen detached. Who were the victims? Among the six killed in the April 10 crash were pilot Seankese Johnson, 36, and a family of five visiting from Spain, including 49-year-old Agustin Escobar, an executive at tech company Siemens, his wife, and their three children, ages 4, 8 and 10. According to news reports including NBC News, Escobar's wife was 39-year-old Mercè Camprubí Montal. Who was the Escobar family? What we know about family in chopper crash New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the 8-year-old would have turned 9 on April 11. Escobar was in town on business and the family joined him to extend the trip and celebrate, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop also said. Johnson had 788 hours of flight time as a pilot and had a commercial pilot certificate, Homendy said. He was a Navy veteran and had recently moved to New York City, according to his Facebook profile. Video shows helicopter crash Video taken by witnesses shows the moment the small helicopter plummeted into the river, followed by a rogue rotor. Watch the video: Moment helicopter crashes in New York City, killing 6 Six people, including five members of one family, died when the sightseeing helicopter lost control over the Hudson River in New York. Tour company releases statement The company that operated the sightseeing tours, New York Helicopter Tours, said in a statement on its website that it would cooperate with the investigation. Read the statement: "New York Helicopter Tours is profoundly saddened by the tragic accident and loss of life that occurred on April 10, 2025, involving one of our helicopters in the Hudson River. At New York Helicopter Tours, the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew has always been the cornerstone of our operations. 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. These agencies have asked us to respect the investigative process by referring all press inquiries to them for any further comment. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families." HELICOPTER OVERSIGHT: High above the city, low on oversight: Are helicopter tours putting lives at risk? Contributing: Christopher Cann and Michael Loria, USA TODAY; Reuters
