Associated Press
Federal investigators launch investigation of helicopter crash
May 5, 2004, 2:39 PM EDT
NEW YORK
-- Federal transportation officials began investigating on Wednesday what caused a news helicopter to spin out of control and crash on a Brooklyn rooftop, causing minor injuries to the reporter and two pilots on board.
Reporter Andrew Torres and the pilots were in stable condition at Brooklyn hospitals, a day after they had flown to the area to cover a shooting for WNBC-TV. The careening chopper clipped a four-story apartment building and then crashed in pieces onto the neighboring two-story building.
The helicopter pilot had reported a "tail rotor failure" to air traffic controllers at Kennedy International Airport moments before the 6:21 p.m. crash, according to Jim Peters, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
Luke Schiada, a senior investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said Wednesday that officials had not identified a cause, but were interested in the pilot's report.
"We're obviously going to take a closer look at that," he said.
The tail rotor, which essentially counteracts the force created by the turning of the main rotor, could fail in several different scenarios, aviation expert Walt Lamon said. He also said that a tail rotor failure is generally not a problem that would be identified during preflight inspection.
"Everyone in the industry will look at this for causes and ways that this can be avoided," he said. Helicopters "have a good safety record, it's a relatively safe activity, and there will be efforts focused on making it safer because of this."
Investigators also will be examining footage of the crash shot by another news station. The NTSB expects to issue a preliminary report in about five days, and a final ruling in several months.
"We have a lot more work still to do and we don't want to jump to any conclusions," Schiada told reporters during a briefing at the crash site, where two other news helicopters circled overhead.
Cranes removed the mangled pieces of the WNBC-TV helicopter, which was owned by Helinet Aviation Services, and placed them on flatbed trucks Wednesday morning. The California-based company refused to comment on the crash or give further information about the three passengers, who are their employees. Torres is a freelance reporter.
Jill Nicolini, who covers traffic and breaking news each day from a helicopter for WB11's "Morning News," said she was shocked, when she saw the wreckage, that the passengers survived.
"It does make you aware that it can be a dangerous job, but if you have a passion and love for flying like I do and you know how statistically safe flying is, I'm confident," said Nicolini, who is training for an airplane pilot's license.
There were 212 civilian helicopter crashes nationwide in 2003, 37 with fatalities, a slight increase from 2002, which saw 205 crashes, 26 that were fatal, according to the Helicopter Association International, which compiles FAA and NTSB data.