On Tuesday, June 14, a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the East River near Pier 11 at Wall St. shortly after takeoff.
It landed on the water; the pilot deployed flotation devices, after all were outside the ‘copter, it tipped upside-down.
All seven on board (one pilot, two British, two French, two Australians) were rescued. They were taken to NYU Downtown Hospital and Bellevue Hospital. One passenger was seriously injured and was out into a medically-induced coma.
Speaking at a press conference at the scene, Mayor Bloomberg said the tourists reported the pilot had some sort of mechanical malfunction when it was just a few feet off the ground, the pilot put the helicopter down and helped everyone escape.
Police boats happened to be in the area and were first on the scene.
WWW Downtown Express
