Helicopter down in East River, NYC

[Passenger 389]

Anything unusual or concerning about this?

He . . . did a communications check through the headsets. The passengers could hear him and radio traffic, but they did not have microphones and could not speak to the pilot or each other.

I ask because if a pax had noticed a strap (or whatever) under the emergency fuel shutoff lever, or even realized he'd just pulled on the strap and something had moved, would that person be able to convey that information to the pilot? Or (if applicable) to tell a fellow passenger your strap is in the wrong place?

Albeit enabling each pax to talk over the headset potentially could be a distraction for a pilot unless the pax were equipped with hand-activated microphones and instructed to use them only in an emergency or other limited scenario (ie, no jabbering).