Originally Posted by
MikeNYC
Yes, in the sense that it hastened the end of the use of rooftop pads in NYC.
Was this the only helicopter crash associated with the Pan Am building? Or was there another accident where the helicopter actually fell off the roof? From reading the accident report, this accident was neither caused nor influenced by the fact that it was a rooftop operation: The same sequence would have happened, if the gear had collapsed on a ground level pad.
In my mind I always had images of a helicopter falling off the roof, and then exploding at ground level, killing droves of 'innocent' bystanders on the streets of Manhattan.
The report understandly discusses whether - all things considered - hot boarding of pax should be avoided in future (but dismisses this suggestion). It is difficult to see though how this accident could reasonably have been used to ban rooftop operations.