New report shows NYC helicopter breaking apart in midair before crash that killed 6

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal officials connected Wednesday released images of a doomed New York City sightseeing chopper arsenic it broke isolated successful midair past month, killing six people.

The bid of inactive photographs taken from surveillance camera video shows the fuselage, containing the motor and rotors, separating from the helicopter's tail. The rotor blades and the transmission past detach from the compartment that’s carrying the passengers and the pilot.

The images were included successful the preliminary report astir the formation released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

“Several witnesses described proceeding respective large ‘bangs’ emanating from the chopper earlier it broke up and descended into the river,” the study says.

Justin Green, an aviation lawyer and erstwhile Marine chopper pilot, said the series of images shows the chopper yawing severely and the process roar failing, suggesting it was astir apt struck by the aircraft’s main rotor blades during flight.

“It’s wide that immoderate mechanical contented precipitated the breakup,” helium said.

The archetypal report, which runs astir six pages, does not code the archetypal origin of the breakup. That, Green said, volition apt beryllium determined by a forensic introspection of the wreckage itself, including the rotor blades, the motor and transmission.

“A process onslaught could beryllium caused by a aviator not handling a nonaccomplishment of powerfulness exigency and allowing the rotor rpm to decay, which makes the rotors flap up and down much and that tin origin a strike," helium said.

The aircraft, a Bell 206L-4 built successful 2004, besides appeared to beryllium reasonably aged and good used, according to Green.

At the clip of the crash, the chopper had operated astir 50 hours since its past inspection connected Feb. 27, according to the NTSB report. The helicopter’s airframe accrued astir 13,000 full hours of operation, and the motor accrued much than 23,000 hours.

Federal Aviation Administration records besides amusement the craft had a attraction contented past September involving its transmission assembly.

“The NTSB volition beryllium looking astatine the overhaul and attraction records to marque definite everything is up to date," Green said.

The NTSB said antecedently that the aircraft, operated by circuit institution New York Helicopter, was not equipped with immoderate video oregon information signaling devices.

But connected Wednesday, it said photos taken beforehand amusement that the pilot, Seankese Johnson, was wearing computer-augmented sunglasses, which would person had video and audio signaling capability. The glasses person not been recovered.

Johnson, a 36-year-old erstwhile Navy SEAL, received his commercialized pilot’s licence successful 2023 and had logged 790 hours of formation time, the NTSB study said.

But helium didn't look to beryllium peculiarly experienced flying a Bell 206L-4, observed Al Yurman, a retired NTSB investigator. The bureau said successful its study Johnson had less than 50 hours of formation successful that benignant of aircraft.

“It's rather blase for that benignant of work,” Yurman said. “I would similar to person idiosyncratic much experienced, but we'll cognize much erstwhile the afloat study comes out.”

The study said Johnson worked a “10 days on/10 days disconnected schedule” and the April 10 formation was his archetypal time backmost aft 10 days off. The formation was besides the eighth that time for the aviator and the helicopter.

The craft was connected a emblematic tour, departing from the downtown heliport by Wall Street astir 3 p.m. and flying northbound on the Manhattan skyline earlier heading southbound toward the Statue of Liberty.

Less than 18 minutes into the flight, witnesses saw the process and main rotor interruption distant and fume pouring from the spinning helicopter.

In caller years New York Helicopter, the circuit company, went done bankruptcy and faced ongoing lawsuits implicit alleged debts.

The institution has said it is cooperating with authorities successful the investigation. No 1 answered the telephone astatine its bureau oregon responded to an email seeking remark connected Wednesday.

The clang was among a caller drawstring of craft disasters and adjacent calls that near immoderate radical worried astir the information of flying successful the U.S. It besides revived concerns astir the fashionable and costly aerial tours implicit New York City.

Five commercialized sightseeing helicopters person gone down successful the rivers astir Manhattan since 2005 arsenic a effect of mechanical failure, aviator mistake oregon collision, killing 20 people.

The April 10 clang killed a salient household from Barcelona, Spain: Agustín Escobar, 49; Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39; and their children Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10.

Officials person said Escobar, planetary CEO of obstruction infrastructure astatine Siemens Mobility, was successful the New York country connected business.

Montal, who worked for Siemens Energy and was the granddaughter of a erstwhile president of the celebrated Barcelona FC shot club, flew successful with their children to conscionable him.