Tourist helicopter crashes in Hudson River in New York City, all 6 on board killed
Tourist helicopter crashes in Hudson River in New York City, all 6 on board killed
A helicopter crashed in the Hudson River in New York City on Thursday afternoon, according to the New York Police Department.
Summary
A tourist helicopter carrying a Spanish family of five and a pilot crashed into the Hudson River near Lower Manhattan, killing all 6 aboard, including 3 children.
The Bell 206 helicopter plunged into the water inverted, missing its rotor blades, just over 15 minutes after departing the Wall St. Heliport.
Witnesses described loud noises and parts falling off before impact.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating, and Jersey City officials renewed calls for tighter air traffic safety.
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It's almost like helicopters are dangerous and you shouldn't be in one unless you really need to.
They're only dangerous if they're poorly maintained... like any aircraft.
Or in windy weather, or with other helicopters around, or with bad thermals...
Helicopters are 35% more dangerous than planes, but that stat includes small aircraft, which are 10x more dangerous than jets. So they are WAY more dangerous than jets. By hour they are 85x more dangerous than cars, but comparing traveling similar distances they are 4x safer than cars.
Saying they're only dangerous compared to any aircraft if poorly maintained is just incorrect.
Like any tool, they’re not dangerous unless improperly maintained or piloted. I can virtually guarantee you, this will come down to either a guilty mechanic (or policies governing mechanic activities) or a guilty pilot. This is not a consequence of “helicopters are fundamentally unsafe vehicles, unfit for tourist consumption.” Laughable.
Like almost every other mode of transportation, flying in a helicopter is considerably more dangerous than airline travel. But it's far safer than riding in a car.
Helicopter travel is, using our metric, slightly more dangerous than mass transit, but we can broadly say they're in the same safety band.