Helicopter pilot: I needed ten more seconds to save British tourist
The pilot of the helicopter that crashed into a New York river, killing a British tourist, has described how he came desperately close to saving her as it sank.
Paul Dudley said that he had repeatedly dived back underwater to try to open a door that would free Sonia Marra, who had been celebrating her 40th birthday in Manhattan.
"If I had had ten more seconds I could have saved her," Mr Dudley told a local televison news reporter, in his first public comment since his sightseeing helicopter plunged into the East River.
Mr Dudley, 56, and three other passengers – Miss Marra's girlfriend Helen Tamaki, her mother Harriet Nicholson and her stepfather Paul Nicholson – survived the crash, which came seconds after take-off.
Mrs Nicholson, 60, and Miss Tamaki, 43, remain in a critical condition after being dragged unconscious from the river. Mr Nicholson, 71, has stayed at their bedsides in a Manhattan hospital.
A post-mortem determined that Miss Marra, who was trapped underwater for more than 90 minutes, had drowned. Her body was eventually recovered by emergency service divers.
Mr Dudley has told friends and his wife that he believes that "engine failure" was to blame. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board declined to disclose any early findings.
A group of New York politicians yesterday called for a total ban on tourist helicopters in the wake of the crash. Daniel Squadron, a state senator, said: "This tragedy is another clear sign: nonessential helicopters in Manhattan don't make sense for passengers, pilots, or local residents".
Mr Dudley told investigators that before taking a right-turn seconds before the crash, he considered turning left but realised he might hurtle into a "populated area" on Manhattan's streets.