Passengers smile moments before NY helicopter crash that killed five

Authorities identified Monday the five people who died in a helicopter crash in New York City’s East River Sunday evening.

Vance was able to unbuckle himself from the sinking helicopter and was rescued by a tugboat.

“A man wearing a white blanket was extracted from the boat and then came out over the pier onto the walkway walked past us and then came down steps and was placed in the ambulance”, said witness Bill Perrin. Citing three crashes within roughly a decade, the lawmaker said the company’s FAA certificate should be suspended while its safety record is scrutinized and the latest incident is investigated.

The harnesses were required because the helicopter’s doors had been removed so that participants could more freely photograph NY.

Authorities had not released the names of the deceased early Monday.

Rescue divers found them dozens of feet below below the water inside the capsized chopper, said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro. Safety harnesses meant to protect the people on board the open-door sightseeing flight were so hard to remove that the victims were trapped. “Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the scheduled 30-minute aerial photography flight that was operated by Liberty Helicopters under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91”.

The company has been involved in at least two other crashes, according to news accounts.

Authorities said that the safety harnesses in the helicopter that were created to protect passengers meant they were unable to free themselves and escape the aircraft. Not even me and this is my third time …

Photojournalist Eric Adams captured this photo from another FlyNYON charter flight shortly before the helicopter crash in the East River on March 11. Flightradar.com, a flight-tracking website, shows the aircraft passing by the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge before the flight ended in the middle of the East River just after 7 p.m.

“Daniel was a treasured member of the YNYC Mixed Ensemble since 2008, serving on the board for eight years and taking over as its President in 2016 to lead the non-profit”, the group wrote on its Facebook page.

The 26-year-old journalist started out with WFAA-TV in Dallas, and had relocated to New York City for his big break last year.

“I’m obviously very frustrated with the harness system which forced my brother to drown”, Brendan Hill said to CBS2 in a phone call Tuesday night.

In a brief video posted on Cadigan’s Instagram account, the pair can be seen sitting in the chopper as it appears to lift off.

The city’s medical examiner’s office has determined all five people killed in the Liberty Helicopter crash died from drowning.

As we reported, the chopper crashed Sunday and slammed down into the river, killing all 5 passengers.

There, federal investigators will comb through the wreckage to figure out what sent it crashing into the East River.