Fatal Jersey City crash spurs plan to ban helicopters around Statue of Liberty

A month after a sightseeing helicopter fell apart in the sky over Jersey City, killing six, three federal lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill that would ban all non-essential helicopter traffic within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty.

Such restrictions are necessary because sightseeing and commuter helicopters clog the airspace sometimes at dangerously low altitudes, create excessive air and noise pollution, and endanger densely populated urban areas on both sides of the Hudson River, said Reps. Rob Menendez (D-08), Jerrold Nadler (D-New York), and Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York).

“Last month’s tragic crash should be a clarion call for every level of government to take action on helicopter safety,” Menendez said in a statement. “Rising congestion of non-essential helicopters, coupled with concerning safety records of air tourism operators, are causing a direct threat to public safety. Along with my colleagues from New Jersey and New York, we’re doing what is necessary to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.”

The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released a preliminary investigative report on that April 10 crash. It offered no cause but shed light on the helicopter’s path and fatal fall.

The Bell 206L-4 helicopter carrying a Spanish family of five broke apart in the air about 17 minutes after it took off from the Wall Street Heliport in Manhattan, according to the report. Killed were Agustin Escobar, 49, a Siemens executive; his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39; their three children, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10; and pilot Seankese Johnson, 36.

Investigators determined that Johnson — on his eighth sightseeing flight of the day in that helicopter — first flew by the Statue of Liberty before heading north on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River past the George Washington Bridge. He then made a U-turn and headed south again along the New Jersey side of the river.

As he approached the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers by Jersey City at a height of about 675 feet, witnesses heard several loud bangs and the chopper fell in three pieces into the river, investigators found.

The fuselage, with engine attached, landed in about six feet of water north of the tunnel’s ventilation towers, and investigators found the chopper’s main rotor and tail sections in about 30 feet of water farther north, according to the report. They also found debris on a Hoboken rooftop.

An initial review of the chopper’s maintenance records showed its most recent inspection occurred on Feb. 27, the report says. Johnson, a U.S. Navy veteran, had logged 790 hours of flight experience, the report says.

The aircraft, which was operated by a company called New York Helicopter, had no video or data recording devices onboard, the report says. Photos taken of Johnson before he flew his final flight showed him wearing computer-augmented sunglasses that had video and audio recording capability, but they were not recovered.

The crash was one of about 30 helicopter crashes that killed 31 people in the region since 1983, according to Menendez’s office.

His bill, co-sponsored by Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-10), also has the support of Stop the Chop NY/NJ.

That grassroots advocacy group says the fatal helicopter crashes, along with a longtime shortage of air traffic controllers, prove the need for the “immediate reform of the current Wild West-like conditions over NYC and surrounding communities.”