Pilot in NYC crash radioed ‘mayday,’ cited engine failure

NEWYORK>> A pilot who survived when his helicopter went down in New York City’s East River, killing five passengers, said in an emergency radio transmission that the aircraft’s engine had failed.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday,” the pilot is heard saying during the crash Sunday night. “East River — engine failure.”

A federal official tells The Associated Press that the pilot told investigators he believed a passenger’s bag might have hit an emergency fuel shutoff switch in the moments before the chopper went down.

The pilot freed himself and was rescued by a tugboat, but emergency divers had to remove the passengers on the charter helicopter being used for a photo shoot from tight safety harnesses while they were upside down, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.

The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators on Monday.