For those who want to take a helicopter flight in New York:
In mid-April, a sightseeing helicopter flight in NYC turned tragic. A helicopter carrying a Spanish family of five and a pilot crashed into the Hudson River shortly after taking off from Manhattan.
Apparently, it was the loss of the rotor (not the propeller) that caused the brutal fall near the West Side Highway.
This has reignited the debate about whether helicopters should be banned for sightseeing flights in NYC or elsewhere.
Source
Yes, it was the loss of the main rotor (not the propeller) that caused the crash. Now we need to understand why the main rotor broke. Poor maintenance and unnoticed wear? Falsified flight documents? The company operating this helicopter just shut down after firing the Operations Manager, who didn’t approve of some of the operator’s questionable practices.
As for flights over NYC, it’s definitely problematic. What would we say if the same thing happened in Paris? Oh, right—no way, there’s the Élysée. We’re safe.😉