The National Transportation Safety Board has released the preliminary report on April’s in-flight breakup and crash of a tourist helicopter in New York.
Investigators from both the NTSB and the FAA are scrutinizing video recordings from surveillance cameras that caught the aircraft’s disintegration as it flew over the Hudson River corridor. The crash killed the pilot and a family of five.
What Happened
According to the information the NTSB gleaned from the ADS-B, the Bell 206L-4 took off from Downtown Manhattan Heliport (KJRB) in New York at 2:58 p.m. EDT on April 10.
The aircraft, operated by New York Helicopter Inc., flew toward the Statute of Liberty, circled it at an altitude of approximately 600 feet, then headed north along the river. The Hudson River corridor route is customarily flown at this altitude.
The helicopter passed the George Washington Bridge, then did a U-turn, and headed south along the New Jersey side of the river. It was at an altitude of approximately 620-650 feet as it approached the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers near Jersey City.
Several witnesses reported hearing several loud “bangs,” and then saw the aircraft’s tail boom and main rotor system separate from the fuselage. The wreckage was strewn about a wide area. The fuselage came to rest inverted in 6 feet of water north of the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers. The main rotor and tail boom sections were found north of the fuselage in 30 feet of water. Debris was also recovered from the rooftop of a building in Hoboken, New Jersey, and the surface of the river.
ADS-B data shows the helicopter climbed to an altitude of approximately 675 feet, then suddenly entered a rapid descent. ADS-B contact was lost at 3:14:54.5 with the last altitude readout of 125 feet.
The helicopter did not have a black box, nor was it required to have one. NTSB investigators noted that photos of the pilot taken before the flight show he was wearing computer-augmented sunglasses that had the capability to record video and audio. However, the glasses were not recovered by salvage crews.
The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for rotorcraft-helicopter and instrument helicopter. According to the FAA, he held a first-class medical certificate and had logged approximately 790.2 total hours of flight experience, of which 48.6 hours were in a Bell 206L-4.
The pilot worked a 10-days-on-10-days-off schedule. The accident flight was the eighth tour flight of the day, and he was on day one of a 10-day rotation.
The helicopter was operated under Part 135, and its most recent inspection was done in February. It had flown approximately 50 hours since the last inspection. At the time of inspection the helicopter airframe had accrued 12,975 total hours and the engine a total of 23,305 hours of operation.
The Weather
Weather at the time of the accident was reported as a ceiling of broken clouds at 7,500 feet and the winds from 150 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 18 knots, then along the route became more variable. Investigators noted a peak was recorded at 2:23 p.m. of 36 knots from the west.
The wreckage was removed and stored in a secure location for further study. The final NTSB report with probable cause is likely at least a year away from being released.
