Bumped switch studied in copter crash

A federal official said that the pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash in New York City’s East River has told investigators he believed a passenger’s bag might have hit an emergency fuel shutoff switch in the moments before the chopper went down.

Sunday’s crash killed all five passengers on a helicopter that had been chartered for a photo shoot. Pilot Richard Vance was able to free himself and was rescued. As the aircraft foundered, Vance made a mayday call and added: “East River — engine failure.”

The official was briefed on the investigation but was not authorized to speak publicly about it and spoke Monday on condition of anonymity.

The official also says the National Transportation Safety Board is looking closely at why an emergency flotation device on the helicopter apparently did not deploy properly. The floats are supposed allow a helicopter to stay upright, rather than overturning and submerging.

Another federal investigator said everything from flotation devices to passengers’ harnesses to photos that might be on their cameras will be examined to determine why the tour helicopter crashed and sank. But, a member of the Transportation Safety Board, Bella Dinh-Zarr, said Monday it will be some time before that finding is made.

AP/The Oregonian/DAVE KILLEN Black smoke rises into the sky in Northeast Portland on Monday, where a pile of scrapped cars caught fire in the area of 75th Avenue and Killingsworth Street. The fire eventually spread to a nearby apartment building and a duplex, burning some units.