Official: Pilot claims passenger bag hit fuel shutoff switch
NEW YORK — The pilot who survived a helicopter crash that killed his five passengers told investigators he believes a passenger’s bag might have hit an emergency fuel shutoff switch in the moments before the chopper went down, a federal official told The Associated Press.
The official said the National Transportation Safety Board also is scrutinizing why an emergency flotation device apparently didn’t deploy properly when the tour helicopter went down in the East River. The floats are supposed keep a helicopter upright. The Eurocopter AS350 that crashed Sunday overturned and submerged.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators began working yesterday to determine what caused the crash, which killed a Texas firefighter, an Argentine woman, a young video journalist and two others on what authorities said was a charter flight to take photos.
Pilot Richard Vance, who managed to free himself and escape from the rapidly sinking chopper, was the only survivor.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday,” he said in an emergency radio call as the aircraft foundered. “East River — engine failure.”
Vance, 33, a licensed commercial pilot for seven years who’s also licensed as a flight instructor, could not be reached for comment.
A floating crane recovered the submerged helicopter yesterday and towed it off to be examined. The owner, Liberty Helicopters, referred all inquiries to federal authorities. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating whether the company had been complying with regulations.
The tour and charter helicopter company has been involved in at least five accidents or other incidents in the last 10 years, according to FAA data. An August 2009 collision over the Hudson River between a Liberty chopper and a small, private plane killed nine people. The company paid $23,576 in fines in 2010 and 2011 for violating maintenance, recordkeeping and flight operations rules, according to the FAA.
Video of the crash showed the helicopter land hard and then capsize and sink in water about 50 feet deep.
Emergency divers had to get the passengers out of tight safety harnesses while they were upside down.
The passengers who died included Dallas Fire-Rescue officer Brian McDaniel, 26, his high school friend Trevor Cadigan, 26, a journalist from Dallas who had recently moved to New York; Carla Vallejos Blanco, 29, an Argentine tourist; Daniel Thompson, 34; and Tristian Hill, 29.