The company behind the tragic Hudson River helicopter crash last week that ended in the deaths of a tourist family and their former Navy Seal pilot is ceasing operations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The FAA made the revelation late Sunday night in a statement, three days after the crash made headlines around the world, revealing that New York Helicopter Tours would no longer be offering flights around the Big Apple.
“New York Helicopter Tours — the company involved in the deadly crash on the Hudson earlier this week — is shutting down their operations immediately,” part of the FAA statement read. ”We will continue to support NTSB’s investigation. Additionally, the FAA will launch an immediate review of the tour operator’s license and safety record.”
The FAA went on to add that they will be hosting a helicopter safety panel on April 22 to discuss the findings, risks, and additional mitigation options from a nationwide analysis.
“Safety is the FAA’s number one priority, and we will not hesitate to act to protect the flying public,” the FAA added.
This came mere hours after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer denounced New York Helicopter Tours in a scathing rebuke of the company, during which he demanded they lose their right to fly.
“New York City’s helicopter tour companies, they have a deadly track record — 11 people killed in the last few years, and it is usually the companies, not the pilots, that are openly manipulating FAA rules, cutting corners and could well be putting profits over people,” Schumer said. “We saw something like this in the FlyNyon crash in 2018 that killed five people in the East River.”
Authorities spent the day Sunday on the Hudson continuing to use “side-scanning sonar” technology and divers in order to locate remaining debris from the crash. The search appeared to have progressed on Monday afternoon with ABC7 reporting that divers recovered a rotor. This came after the NTSB said the main rotor, main gearbox, tail rotor, and a large portion of the tail boom were still uncounted for. However, it is unclear which rotor was salvaged. Experts believe this will go a long way in helping understand what went wrong.
