NEW YORK — New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is looking on federal authorities to revoke the working permits of the helicopter tour firm whose sightseeing chopper broke aside in midair and plunged into the Hudson River on Thursday, killing a household of 5 visiting from Spain and the pilot, a Navy SEAL veteran.
At a press convention Sunday, Schumer mentioned the corporate, New York Helicopter Excursions, ought to be required to halt all flights because the Nationwide Transportation Security Board investigates the crash.
The Senate Democrat minority chief additionally referred to as on the Federal Aviation Administration to ramp up security inspections for different helicopter tour firms, accusing them of “cutting corners and putting profits over people.”
The victims included passengers Agustin Escobar, 49; his spouse, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39; and their three kids, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10. The pilot was Seankese Johnson, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran who obtained his business pilot’s license in 2023.
“One of the things we can do to honor those lives and try to save others is to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Schumer mentioned. “We know there is one thing for sure about New York City’s helicopter tour companies: They have a deadly track record.”
Thursday’s crash has renewed security issues about New York’s sightseeing excursions, a preferred vacationer draw that whisks passengers excessive above town, providing hovering views of the Statue of Liberty, the World Commerce Heart and different landmarks.
Within the final twenty years, 5 helicopters on business sightseeing flights have fallen into the Hudson and East rivers on account of mechanical failures, pilot errors or collisions, killing 20 individuals.
In response to Schumer’s requires extra oversight, an trade group, the Japanese Area Helicopter Council, mentioned Manhattan’s sightseeing choppers “already operate under the most stringent of regulations.”
“We stand ready to work with leaders on finding ways to ensure the safety and preservation of our businesses and aviation community,” the group mentioned.
Critics of the trade have lengthy sought to restrict or completely ban nonessential helicopter flights from taking off above town, although they’ve had restricted success. After New York Metropolis capped the variety of flights that would take off from Manhattan heliports at 30,000 yearly in 2016, many firms moved operations to New Jersey.
Two years later, in 2018, 5 individuals died when a helicopter providing “open door” flights crashed within the East River after a passenger’s restraint tether snagged on a gasoline swap, stopping the engine.
The reason for Thursday’s crash shouldn’t be but decided. In accordance with Schumer, rescue divers have been persevering with to seek for the helicopter’s principal rotor and meeting gear field, which might give clues about what occurred.
