A tourist, a video journalist, a firefighter, and two sightseeing ticket seller employees were tragically killed on March 11 after their “doors-off” helicopter’s engine failed and the helicopter crashed into the East River in New York. The tragedy has now prompted the FAA to halt such flights while the cause is being investigated.
“Doors-off” helicopter flights have become popular because the lack of a door allows photographers to get clearer aerial photos and has become a popular travel adventure activity for both photographers and thrill-seekers.
According to the New York Daily News, the crash occurred 11 minutes into the flight. The cause of the crash is being investigated, but one of the suspected causes is that a strap from a suitcase may have accidentally wrapped itself around a fuel shutoff lever, pulling it and cutting the engine, according to the pilot, who was the only survivor.
However, the crash might have been survivable, according to investigators. Investigators were looking into whether the six pontoons on the helicopter, which might have prevented it from submerging, were properly deployed. The helicopter flipped over after crashing into the river, submerging the passengers submerged and strapped in their seats. The Daily News quoted a police source saying that the helicopter might not have turned over had the pontoons fully inflated.
Another possible contributor to the fatalities was that passengers were tightly harnessed to their seats and could not easily remove their seat straps, and that may have prevented them from escaping the aircraft safely. Although small blades were available for cutting through the tethers, other participants in similar rides were quoted by the New York Times saying passengers weren’t instructed on where the blades were or how to use them.
The city had recently reduced helicopter tours from the downtown heliport by 50 percent. However, by marketing their flights as “doors-off” professional photography tours and by taking off in New Jersey—outside the city’s jurisdiction—some tour operators had continued to operate flights.
Now, the New York Times reports that the FAA has stopped all “doors-off” flights as a result of the crash, and that the directive applies to all such flights nationwide. “Operators, pilots, and consumers should be aware of the hazard presented by supplemental restraint devices in the event of an emergency evacuation during ‘doors-off’ flights,” the F.A.A. said in a statement on March 15. “The F.A.A. will order operators and pilots to take immediate actions to control or mitigate this risk. Until then, the F.A.A. will order no more ‘doors-off’ operations that involve restraints that cannot be released quickly in an emergency.”
