nytraveler

Those considering a helicopter ride as part of their visit to New York should know that there has just been another helicopter crash, this one into the Hudson River. The cause was "massive engine failure".

Luckily all of the passengers and the pilot were saved. Wearing their life vests, they all jumped into the river before the copter hit the water - and were rescued shortly after ward by "Mad Dog" Duffy - captain of The Beast - one of the the circle line speed boats that provides harbor tours.

At the time the copter was 8 minutes into the 10 minute tour.

Bobmrg

Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing the number of flights that take off and land safely. Crash reports are newsworthy because they happen so infrequently.

gb944

So, they make you put on lifevests before taking off???

The story I saw on the news showed a helicopter with pontoon flotation devices deployed, the helicopter was floating on the water, and the pilot was said to have been assisting passengers in putting on their vests and then helping them off the copter.

I guess that I would fly with them if given an opportunity.

Gekko

Correct -- the helicopter landed in the water with deployed emergency pontoons to keep it afloat. The passengers put on life preservers and exited the floating chopper unharmed. They were picked up 5 minutes later.

In the TV footage and in the Post today, the passenger had big smiles on their faces. A scary, harrowing experience, certainly, but I'm sure also quite thrilling (once it was all over).

hills27

So, really an emergency landing, not a crash. Things worked as they were supposed to. Life goes on.

nytraveler, what was your point here?

travelbuff

Actually these helios seem to have a "crash" in one of the rivers here at least once a year, not great safety records.

karameli

I still bet their safety records are better than the NY taxis!

nytraveler

Sorry- the point was that there have been several heliclopter accidents lately - one with fatalities and another with injuries. And - in fact they are much less safe than fixed wing aircraft (and deaths/injuries are incredibly higher than in NYC taxis - per mile).

Just wanted those thinking of it to know that there had been another incident. And "massive engine failure" doesn;t sound like a bumpy landing. If it had been higher when the engine failed it could have been fatal.

hills27

Which crash had a fatality in recent years? The last fatality I can find was in 1997. Neither of the two 2005 crashes had fatalities.

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives..._helicop_1.php

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives...opter_cras.php

Only one person has been killed in a helicopter crash in NYC during the past 10 years while 15-20 are killed in NYC each year riding bicycles.

Anyway, everything can be dangerous. Of course, one should research the safety record of any tour provider, but the slight risk of a freak accident shouldn't keep one from enjoying life.

hills27

The helicopter WAS high in the sky when the engine failed AND it was a CONTROLLED landing. The safety equipment and the pilot's training worked as they should. From news articles on yesterday's crash:

...The pilot, who wasn't named and had seven passengers, deployed emergency pontoons and made a controlled landing on the New Jersey side of the river....

...Capt. Jeffrey Race of the FDNY Haz-Tac unit said the helicopter could have been as high as 1,500 feet before beginning its abrupt descent. "They had just gone over the Empire State Building and were circling to come back," Race said....

...Donoghue and passengers praised [passenger] Mejia for assisting passengers in putting on life jackets and the female pilot of the helicopter for executing the safe landing. "The pilot was amazing. She stayed calm through the entire incident," said Mejia, 21, an FDNY emergency medical technician from Flushing.

Ike

I figure my day will come some day. If it's on a cruise, flying, driving down the highway, walking across 5th avenue or walking across main street in Mississippi, it will come. Helicopters don't bother me.

starrsville

Me too Ike. I'd rather go "doing" something, than sitting around wondering what could go wrong.

Sounds like a pretty good safety record for NYC helicopter tours.

PS - If I go down with the 'coptor on my next trip to NYC, tell all Fodorville I died happy

hills27

I totally agree. I'd rather die as close to quickly as possible while looking out at an amazing view than any other alternative I can think of.

Didn't mean to be argumentative, but I was compelled to correct the alarmist and selective misinformation posted.

Bobmrg

Jeez, nytraveler, how many times do I have to say this? Helicopter pilots are trained to do autorotations when (in training) an engine is shut down. As the chopper descends, the airflow from below rotates the blades just as they are rotated by the engine. The skill part comes when it is time to stop the descent. Student helicopter pilots do this many times with their instructors and again for the FAA-designated examiner in order to get the helicopter rating. When they are experienced enough to be employed by an air taxi operator (with a commercial pilot certificate, of course), they demonstrate an autorotation landing to a check pilot every six months. Actually, having additional altitude at the time of engine failure makes the recovery easier.

frank_and_beans

nytraveler, another example of you inflating the details of a story in order to make a point.