Hudson helicopter crash company to face FAA scrutiny
New York Helicopter Tours – the company involved in this week’s fatal Bell 206 L-4 crash over the Hudson River – has shut its operations effective immediately, the FAA has confirmed, while an NTSB update has revealed the helicopter was not equipped with any flight recorders.
In a statement on its website, the tour operator noted it was “profoundly saddened by the tragic accident and loss of life that occurred on April 10,” adding that “the safety and well-being of [its] passengers and crew has always been the cornerstone of [its] operations”. A family of five and the pilot all lost their lives when the pleasure flight, the eighth one of the day, plummeted inverted into the river having apparently lost its rotors and tail boom.
The FAA added it will be launching an immediate review of the tour operator’s license and safety record. Although unavailable for comment, New York Helicopter Tours’ website states that during its over 30 years of operation in the city, it possessed an “industry leading safety record”. However, company representatives have met with NTSB investigators to review what the latter defined as “operational records, policies and procedures, safety management systems and the pilot’s experience”.
In a 12 April update, the NTSB confirmed that wreckage continued to be recovered from the river, with New York Police Department divers currently searching for the helicopter’s main rotor, main gear box, tail rotor and a large portion of the tail boom; aided by side-scanning sonar. No onboard video recorders or camcorders have been retrieved, and none of the onboard avionics recorded information of use to the investigation, added the NTSB.
NTS investigators continue to examine the helicopter’s flight control system at a secure location, with further recovered parts to be sent to NTSB laboratories in Washington for further inspection.
