Helicopter Crashes In East River (Off Wall St.)

[Renew Deal]

NEW YORK -- A helicopter crashed Tuesday afternoon into the East River off lower Manhattan, a Fire Department spokesman said. There was no immediate word of injuries.

According to spokesman Dave Billig, the incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. near South Street. Rescuers were on the scene removing the occupants from the helicopter, he said, but there were no other details available.

It was unclear what had caused the crash, he said. A call to the Federal Aviation Administration was not immediately returned.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/4607311/detail.html

[Stinky The Clown]

1. No fatalities .... amazingly!

Per MSNBC, no fatalities, but one person in serious condition. Beyond this, still not a lot of details.

[underpants]

2. Thank GOD I was afraid we might have lost a stockbroker

and WHERE are we going to get any more of those?

[Danmel]

3. Now, Now

I remember a traffic helicopter went down a number of years ago in the East River (it was further uptown though) and they played tapes of the woman who was the traffic reporter on the air. IT was simply horrific. Now that I'm thinking of it, I can still hear her voice screaming "Hit the Water". She was killed. Her name was Jane- I don't remember the last name.

I'm glad no one was killed (even if the occupants were stockbrokers)

[RamboLiberal]

4. Ironic part of that story was the traffic reporter

was in a previous helicopter accident in the river that same year and was pulled out by the FDNY. 2nd time though wasn't a charm.

[underpants]

5. I know I know

couldn't resist

[rainbow4321]

7. 6 tourists...

Looks like they were pretty lucky..rescuers were nearby and the passengers stayed above water.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8217752/


A helicopter carrying six tourists on a sightseeing trip above Manhattan crashed Tuesday afternoon into the East River just minutes after taking off, authorities said. None of the people aboard appeared seriously injured, officials said.


The rescue happened quickly after the 1:30 p.m. crash near the Wall Street heliport, since police harbor units were already in the area conducting a drill, said a police spokesman, Inspector Michael Coan

The seven people aboard the helicopter were standing on its pontoons awaiting help when the police boats arrived, Coan said

[Rick Myers]

6. From the video it's pretty clear

that the inflatable pontoons were NOT installed properly. Probably why it flipped after hitting the water.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. The pontoons .......

Actually, it appears the pontoons did, in fact, do what they're supposed to do. They inflate only upon impact with water (not sure if this is automatic or if the pilot has to do something to deploy them). Their job is to keep the aircraft from sinking. In this repsect they seem to have worked perfectly.

When not deployed, the pontoons are in the skids on which the helicopter normally lands.

[Rick Myers]

10. Right, the pontoons mount on the skids, but

there are 6 seperate pontoons. Assuming the FRONT pair are 1 and 2, the middle set are 3 and 4 and the rear 5 and 6, it appears 5 and 6 are monuted in the position of 3 and 4, and vice versa.

You can see what I'm talking about in the photo on this MSNBC page:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8217752/

I'd bet that is what caused the thing to flip after it was in the water.

[Baclava]

9. Gravity is just a Theory

Helicopters don't fly, they beat the air into submission.