Probe looks at fuel switch in crash of copter
NEW YORK — The pilot who survived a helicopter crash that killed his five passengers told investigators he believed 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 on Monday.
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 Sunday night in the East River. The floats are supposed to keep a helicopter upright; the Eurocopter AS350 that crashed overturned and submerged. The official was briefed on the investigation but spoke on condition of anonymity.
NTSB investigators began working Monday 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 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.”
No one answered an email Monday to Vance, 33, a licensed commercial pilot for seven years who is also licensed as a flight instructor. A possible phone number for him in Danbury, Conn., wasn’t working.
A floating crane raised the submerged helicopter to the surface Monday and towed it off to be examined as Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said federal regulators should suspend flights by the helicopter’s owner until the facts of the crash are known. The owner, Liberty Helicopters, referred all inquiries to federal authorities.
A tour and charter helicopter company, Liberty has been involved in at least five accidents or other incidents in the last 10 years, according to FAA data. “Incidents” can include events that end in safe landings, but an August 2009 collision over the Hudson River between a Liberty chopper and a small private plane killed nine people, including a group of Italian tourists.
The passengers who died included Dallas Fire-Rescue Officer Brian McDaniel, 26; his high school friend Trevor Cadigan, 26; and Carla Vallejos Blanco, 29, a tourist from Argentina, according to its consulate. The other victims were Daniel Thompson, 34, and Tristian Hill, 29, according to police.