CHOPPER DOWN
But pilot OK in Hudson crash off Midtown
A helicopter that had just taken off from a Midtown heliport crashed into the Hudson River on Wednesday, but the pilot, who had no passengers, escaped nearly unscathed, officials said.
The 35-year-old pilot, who was working for Zip Aviation, had refueled at one part of the W. 30th St. heliport just before he crashed about 2:20 p.m., a source said. He took off so he could swing around and land at another area and wait for passengers when he suddenly lost altitude.
Pilot Eric Morales tried to land at the heliport but fell short of the landing pad and crashed into the water.
“It just hovered there for maybe a couple of minutes before it just came down,” said shocked Texas tourist Al Gaydos, 74, who was having drinks nearby when he witnessed the crash. “It was a very big splash.”
The rotary blades snapped and flew off after they sliced into the water, he said.
The helicopter came down about 150 feet from the helipad, said NYPD Assistant Chief Stephen Hughes, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Manhattan South.
“The pilot had just refueled at W. 30th St. heliport and as he repositioned the helicopter and attempted to land again felt the helicopter go down,” Hughes said. “He was able to deploy the floatation devices and stand on the pads until a passing boat picked him up and brought him to the helipad.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) tweeted that he was asking the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate, saying, “Crashes in the Hudson demand their expertise.”
An NY Waterway ferry gave Morales a lift back to land. Morales escaped the harrowing ordeal with only a cut to his hand, officials said. A heliport worker suffered minor injuries when he slipped and fell trying to avoid flying debris. Both were treated at the scene.
NY Waterway Capt. Adam Sciaino was shuttling eight passengers between 14th St. and Hoboken, N.J., when he saw the helicopter go into the water.
“He hovered for a second or two, did a little tailspin and went into the water,” Sciaino said. “We went over to the helicopter as fast as we can. We slowed down to come in nice and gentle. We went right up to the helicopter and saw him come out.”
Once crew member Edwin Montoya threw down a rope ladder, the pilot grabbed hold and climbed up. “He was calm … a little nervous,” Montoya, 47, recalled. “He didn’t say what happened. He just kept saying, ‘I’m OK! I’m OK! I’m OK!’ ”
Morales asked to be dropped off at the pier, where he met and spoke with arriving police officers. The helicopter flipped over as first responders pulled it toward a nearby dock.
“The pilot is out of the water and the helicopter is secured. Please avoid the area,” the NYPD said.
The pilot was reported to be the only person aboard, but FDNY divers jumped into the choppy waters to check for others as a precaution.
Zip Aviation rents the Bell 206 helicopter to Blade Urban Air Mobility Inc., which runs an app-based helicopter shuttle service from Manhattan to area airports. A spokesman for Blade said the pilot was not on a run for their company when the helicopter went down.
“It was not going to or coming from a Blade mission,” the spokesman said. “Luckily, he’s OK.”
The crash took place not far from where pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger famously landed a packed U.S. Airways flight on the river in 2009. All 155 people onboard the plane survived.