The unfortunate New York City tour helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday features in a current video promoting the company's alleged safety records.
Chopper, Bell 206L-4 Long Ranger IV, left the air Thursday afternoon and plunged into the water upside down near the coastline of Jersey City, New Jersey, killing five Spanish family members and a veteran pilot of the aircraft's Navy Seal.
The helicopter's main rotor and tail rotor are detached from the aircraft's body and can be seen splashing separately into the water, an eyewitness video shows. The exact cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
The unlucky helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday killed six people and was featured in a video promoting the company's alleged safety records. (New York Helicopter)
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The helicopter, registration number N216MH, is operated by a New York helicopter, and the company's website still features a video of the Doom helicopter being checked before takeoff.
The video is built into the company's homepage under a section entitled “Why Choose Us” and promotes the company's experience, affordability and safety records, among other reasons.
“We have an industry-leading safety record,” the website says along with the video.
The soundless video shows workers walking towards the black and white chopper with the main rotor blade tied to the dolly.
He then unravels the rope from Dolly, roams around the aircraft, pulling the main rotor through the rope.
The worker then climbs to the side of the chopper, inspects the aircraft's engine and drive shaft, then jumps into the cockpit to perform more checks before starting the engine and taking off.
The worker climbs to the side of the chopper and inspects the aircraft's engine and drive shaft. (New York Helicopter)
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The Bell 206 was manufactured in 2004 and had already recorded the 12,728 hours flight time that was forced to be repaired in September due to mechanical issues in its transmission assembly. New York Post Reports are reported using FAA data.
In April 2023, the FAA issued two Safety Aes for all Bell 206L model helicopters.
The FAA said it has identified the risk of tail rotor drive (TRDS) failures caused by failed joint joints in the segmented drive shaft. The FAA recommended replacing failed tail rotor drives with compliant serviceable parts and banned the installation of non-compliant TRDS parts.
A New York helicopter worker inspects the engine and drives the shaft. (New York Helicopter)
In one cold video of Thursday's crash, the tail rotor appears to have been separated in front of the main rotor.
Michael Ross, CEO of the New York Helicopter Tour, told the New York Post that he had never seen anything like that in his 30 years in the helicopter business.
“The only thing I can guess – I didn't get a clue – it's either a bird strike or the main rotor blade failed. I have no clue. I don't know,” he told the outlet. “This is horrifying,” Ross added. “But you need to remember something. These are machines and they break.”
The company issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened by the tragic accident and the loss of life.”
The five Spanish families who died in the tragedy include Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merche Kanrubi Montal, global manager of the Energy Technology Company, and three children. The pilot was also killed. (New York Helicopter Tour, LLC)
“On New York helicopter tours, passenger and crew safety and happiness have always been the cornerstone of our business,” reads a statement on the company's website. “Our immediate focus is to support families and their loved ones affected by this tragedy and fully cooperate with the FAA and NTSB investigations.”
It's not the first time a helicopter operated by a Ross company has experienced mechanical problems.
In 2015, another Bell 206 operated by the company was forced to land hard, hovering 20 feet from the ground after taking off in northern New Jersey. In that incident, according to the NTSB, Chopper experienced a tail rotor drive shaft failure due to reuse of the failed portion.
The parts were painted by the previous owner, so it is no longer possible to know if they were part of the helicopter during previous hard landings. New York Times It has been reported.
The helicopter will take off after inspection. (New York Helicopter)
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Two years ago, the company-run Bell 206 lost power and made an emergency landing in the water carrying four Swedish tourists. The pilot deployed aircraft pontoons and landed safely in the river.
Thursday's tragedy prompted Rep. Nicole Mariotakis (RN.Y.) to call for flights to be suspended or stopped completely.
The crash followed a fatal 2018 incident in which a tour helicopter was tragically slammed into the East River, killing five passengers. The flight was run by the Liberty helicopter at Freignon.
