Hudson River helicopter crash: Schumer demands tougher FAA regulations while ripping company that chartered doomed flight

Senator Chuck Schumer railed Sunday against the company behind the doomed helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River Thursday, demanding that its flight license be revoked.

As authorities continue to scour the murky depths for pieces of the helicopter, including the main rotor, Schumer didn’t mince words as he took New York Helicopter Tours to task. The Senate minority leader evoked tragic images of the Escobar family and their three children, aged four, eight, and ten.

“I see that picture in my head all the time of that little boy smiling and waving so happily, and then just a short time later, he was taken from us; it just totally breaks your heart when you see that picture,” Schumer said during an April 13 press conference at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. “We have to do something about it; I don’t want to see more pictures like that.”

“I see that picture in my head all the time of that little boy smiling and waving so happily, and then just a short time later, he was taken from us, it just totally breaks your heart when you see that picture,” Schumer said. Photo by Dean Moses

“New York City’s helicopter tour companies, they have a deadly track record,” Schumer added.Photo by Dean Moses

Schumer charged that the flight was operating under what is called a “Part 91,” FFA certificate, the lowest level of safety in the industry, stating that he believes that health security is so lax that he himself would refuse to ride one. Under “Part 91,” Schumer says that the aircraft is not required to have a team of people overseeing flights boosting the level of training and experience that commercial and passenger helicopter companies require.

“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.”

Chairman of the Eastern Region Helicopter Council Jeff Smith, meanwhile, responded to Schumer’s outrage by asking the elected official “not to jump to conclusions.”

The NYPD are using “side-scanning sonar” technology is being utilized in order to find the remaining wreckage. Photo by Dean Moses

“The horrible events of Thursday are still under review and until all of the facts have come forth, we ask everyone not to jump to any conclusions. We need to fully understand what happened before any actions are taken to ensure we get it right and nothing like this can ever happen again,” part of a statement read. “We agree with Senator Schumer’s suggestion that the industry operates under the required ATMP agreement and Part 136 requirements, in fact we already do. All helicopters operating Downtown already operate under the most stringent of regulations and we are eager to work with the Senator or his staff.”

Schumer also denounced several of the tour companies, including FlyNyon, for slashing their prices to entice more customers following the infamous crash.

“Listen to this: They’re offering the same kind of flights that just took the lives of these six people, but now, because of the crash, they’re giving a 70% discount special. Outrageous… outrageous,” Schumer scoffed. “Right now, New York Helicopter Tours is under federal investigation for these deaths, but first, I am urging the FAA to pull their operating certificate immediately and cease flights until their full investigation is concluded.”

This comes as the the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), whom Schumer praised for their work following the incident, reported that the aircraft did not have a flight recorder onboard while adding that “side-scanning sonar” technology is being utilized in order to find the remaining wreckage.

“The helicopter was not equipped with any flight recorders. No onboard video recorders or camera recorders have been recovered, and none of the helicopter avionics onboard recorded information that could be used for the investigation,” the NTSB said.

The doomed tourist helicopter that broke apart mid-air Thursday before plunging into the Hudson River, killing all onboard, was not equipped with a black box.Photo by Dean Moses