Thursday’s horrible tourist helicopter crashes against the Hudson River that killed six people was one of several mortal tragedies involving the plane in recent years. At least 32 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York since 1977, according to Associated Press.
In 1977, the landing gear in a Sikorsky S-61L worked badly while the passengers waited to board from the roof of the Pan AM building. The helicopter leaned sideways, and his spinning rotor blades killed four people, including film director Michael Findlay, and wounded a fifth. A piece of broken sword fell to the streets of below and killed a pedestrian and wounded another.
In 2009, nine people were killed when a Eurocopter As350 tourist helicopter with five Italian tourists on board collided with a small private plane on the Hudson River near the Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken. The flight was operated by Liberty Helicopter Tours.
In 2018, a flight by Liberty Helicopters operated for Flynyon, also an AS350 Eurocopter, fell into the East River, killing five people. Two passengers died in the place and three others were declared dead in the hospital. Later, a jury gave the family of the victims $ 116 million in a lawsuit.
In 2019, an Agusta A109E helicopter landed on the roof of a 54 -story building in the center of Manhattan, killing the pilot, then identified as Tim McCormack. McCormack was the only person on board and knew as a very respected pilot. Airport officials speculated that it suffered a mechanical failure while it was in flight.
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