Helicopter down in East River, NYC
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Sorry if similar has been posted already but try searching for bbc astronaut trading water escape to see what it's like in clear swimming pool with multiple instructors and safety guys. Now do it first time in cold murky water no STASS no training and tricky harness. Sadly I think that is non survivable.
Police divers jumped out of a police helicopter within 4 minutes I believe. See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D96hPIroy8M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D96hPIroy8M
Assumed that the timing is real time?
I understand that it took between 30 and 60 minutes after the crash to get them out of the water. I somehow cannot imagine it took them 26 minutes to get the first one out? The helicopter was still afloat so visible. They had to go down only 2 to 3 meters and the water was calm. Surely more a benign set of circumstances for a rescue. I guess maybe the time stamp in the video might not be uncut
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I would have taken one look at that harness and booked another company for the gig. Any pro would have. I know the lines are blurred now with everyone and their dog wearing a camera, but it's not rocket science to know what's up, when you do this for a living and it's not your first flight in a harness.
Tourists should stay in their seats, belted in normally for quick egress, and never in a harness where it's likely to be their first time.
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I wonder how good the flynyon little rescue knives are. If they are anything like the emergency escape hammer tools sold for underwater car escapes they probably won't work half the time
I'd hope the FAA does a time test of tourists, even on dry ground wihout full tension on their harness:
1) finding their knife for the first time, then cutting away either all 4 straps needed to release themselves, or the main anchor point. Is it even capable of fitting and a clean/quick cut of the thick reinforced main harness, without snapping or reverting to a sawing motion?
2) testing the same while blindfolded. (still not upside down or underwater...)
Last edited by e7pilot; 15th Mar 2018 at 05:15.
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First lawsuit filed and they are going after the pilot as well as the 'photo shoot' operators:
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/cour...licopter-crash
The family of a Dallas journalist who died in a helicopter crash Sunday says the harnesses passengers were wearing prevented them from escaping from New York City's East River.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York state court says Trevor Cadigan was unable to escape from his seat on the Eurocopter AS350B2 because of the harness he was cinched into.
Cadigan, along with his friend Dallas Fire-Rescue firefighter Brian McDaniel and three other people, drowned when the charter helicopter capsized in the river, medical examiners said.
The passengers had been on board for a private photo shoot. Only the pilot survived.
The way passengers were harnessed, with a release mechanism in the back, there "was just no prospect of safely escaping," said Gary C. Robb, a lawyer for Cadigan's parents.
"Hanging upside-down in frigid water — stunned by the helicopter crash, tightly harnessed, release inaccessible, with no advanced training — is a death trap," Robb said.
The lawsuit, which names Liberty Helicopters, the pilot and others, seeks unspecified damages, but Robb says the family mainly wants to end open-door flights for taking aerial photos.
Liberty Helicopters did not respond to requests for comment and referred inquiries to federal authorities.
The lawsuit alleges Liberty Helicopters is vicariously liable for the actions of the pilot, Richard Vance, and states that he was "negligent and careless in failing to take reasonable steps to extricate the passengers ... after he secured his own release."
Passengers' safety harnesses on open-door photo tours are different from pilots' seat belts, said helicopter pilot Bill Richards, of the aerial photography company New York Film Flyers.
"The pilot survived because the pilot has a single-point release on his seatbelt. It's sitting right in front of him right in the middle," Richards said. "All he has to do is pull up one lever and the seatbelt comes apart, and he's practiced getting in and out of the aircraft hundreds and hundreds of times and knows exactly how to do that."
Harnesses made to keep overzealous passengers from falling out of an aircraft's open door, he said, are much harder to unstrap. Passengers get a knife they can use to cut themselves free, but that doesn't mean the passengers know how to use them.
The lawsuit alleges that the policy of providing a knife for passengers to cut through their harnesses and free themselves is "grossly negligent and reckless." It also refers to the harnesses secured from the back with a carabiner as a "death trap" because they do not permit passengers to activate the release mechanisms on their own.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York state court says Trevor Cadigan was unable to escape from his seat on the Eurocopter AS350B2 because of the harness he was cinched into.
Cadigan, along with his friend Dallas Fire-Rescue firefighter Brian McDaniel and three other people, drowned when the charter helicopter capsized in the river, medical examiners said.
The passengers had been on board for a private photo shoot. Only the pilot survived.
The way passengers were harnessed, with a release mechanism in the back, there "was just no prospect of safely escaping," said Gary C. Robb, a lawyer for Cadigan's parents.
"Hanging upside-down in frigid water — stunned by the helicopter crash, tightly harnessed, release inaccessible, with no advanced training — is a death trap," Robb said.
The lawsuit, which names Liberty Helicopters, the pilot and others, seeks unspecified damages, but Robb says the family mainly wants to end open-door flights for taking aerial photos.
Liberty Helicopters did not respond to requests for comment and referred inquiries to federal authorities.
The lawsuit alleges Liberty Helicopters is vicariously liable for the actions of the pilot, Richard Vance, and states that he was "negligent and careless in failing to take reasonable steps to extricate the passengers ... after he secured his own release."
Passengers' safety harnesses on open-door photo tours are different from pilots' seat belts, said helicopter pilot Bill Richards, of the aerial photography company New York Film Flyers.
"The pilot survived because the pilot has a single-point release on his seatbelt. It's sitting right in front of him right in the middle," Richards said. "All he has to do is pull up one lever and the seatbelt comes apart, and he's practiced getting in and out of the aircraft hundreds and hundreds of times and knows exactly how to do that."
Harnesses made to keep overzealous passengers from falling out of an aircraft's open door, he said, are much harder to unstrap. Passengers get a knife they can use to cut themselves free, but that doesn't mean the passengers know how to use them.
The lawsuit alleges that the policy of providing a knife for passengers to cut through their harnesses and free themselves is "grossly negligent and reckless." It also refers to the harnesses secured from the back with a carabiner as a "death trap" because they do not permit passengers to activate the release mechanisms on their own.
This is the accident in Greenland 1996 I refering to earlier. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=31146
Thank you. NYC continues to be one of the 'best chance for quick water rescue' spots worldwide.
I wonder how good the flynyon little rescue knives are. If they are anything like the emergency escape hammer tools sold for underwater car escapes they probably won't work half the time
I'd hope the FAA does a time test of tourists, even on dry ground wihout full tension on their harness:
1) finding their knife for the first time, then cutting away either all 4 straps needed to release themselves, or the main anchor point. Is it even capable of fitting and a clean/quick cut of the thick reinforced main harness, without snapping or reverting to a sawing motion?
2) testing the same while blindfolded. (still not upside down or underwater...)
I wonder how good the flynyon little rescue knives are. If they are anything like the emergency escape hammer tools sold for underwater car escapes they probably won't work half the time
I'd hope the FAA does a time test of tourists, even on dry ground wihout full tension on their harness:
1) finding their knife for the first time, then cutting away either all 4 straps needed to release themselves, or the main anchor point. Is it even capable of fitting and a clean/quick cut of the thick reinforced main harness, without snapping or reverting to a sawing motion?
2) testing the same while blindfolded. (still not upside down or underwater...)
The thicker webbing on the harness would require a bigger and stronger cutter, and so far I haven't seen what they offered.
If it was the type you use for your car, I wouldn't think you wouldnt be very successful.
Some very interesting comments about this accident. Thought I would add my .02 cents worth since I am someone who spends most of my time strapped into the back of Helos doing air to air shoots and in fact I have been flying with the crews of FlyNYON since its inception some 6 years ago. Here are my thoughts and observations.
I have seen comments from people saying that this operation was just a way to beat the air tour operations rules. Sorry but totally disagree and I know that for a fact. Pat Day who started NYON, previously NYonAir was and is an avid photographer. He would use their own AS355 at the beginning to go and shoot aerial photos of NYC for a stock library they had back then and also sell the images to clients who wanted unique aerial perspectives of NYC. He then had many people approach them wanting to shoot that same type of image - so they started doing photo flights where Pat would take along one or two others and they would all capture some cool images. I was one of the originals when that was happening. It was offering photographers a unique way of shooting photos of NYC. It was NEVER about trying to circumvent the rules associated with Part 135 tour operators as some on here have stated.
The comment from this photographer who has been after his 15 mins of fame by doing stories and blogs about how he was in the other helicopter about how they didn't brief pax about where the cutter was I find very hard to believe as I have seen, sat through and watched the briefings many many times. My guess is he was told but he was focused on something else and didn't listen. Me - I have been guilty of that myself. Complacency can bite you in the ass - the I have done this many times before and know where stuff is so no need to listen to this bit. Knowing the staff that NYON have based at Kearny Heliport I doubt that any would have not explained this to the pax. However the caveat on this is that I dont know the Liberty pilots that they use when their own machines are busy. Liberty have a lot of pilots and I personally only flew with them maybe once or twice and the ones I did fly with explained everything in detail, however I cant speak for them all.
While I would never be attached into a helicopter the way NYON have their pax anchored they are also caught between a rock and a hard place. Pat and all the team there including the chief pilot, line pilots, owners and staff take safety 110% seriously. They know the risks of what is happening - people who have never flown in a helicopter being harnessed in and you hope to christ that none of them want to have a come to Jesus moment and decide to go free falling. The method they have them anchored in reduces the risk immensely in having one of the harnesses come loose or them inadvertently coming out of it. BUT that has the downside in a situation like this of being able to get out in a hurry in an emergency. I have my own personal device for cutting webbing and from time to time I practice grabbing it and pretending to do it just so I am familiar with where it is located and what I need to do. Do I think these pax could have done this while upside down in the water, after the shock of having an auto into freezing cold water - being blunt not a ****s show. But they obviously had to weigh up the risks - which had a higher priority - stopping someone coming loose of their harness 2000ft up over NYC or catering to what could happen if a heli went down. I cant or wouldn't answer that on their behalf as thats something they decided on.
In regards to peoples comments about being in seatbelts as well. On EVERY flight I have done, whether its been flying on and air to air shoot in NYC or shooting with RFS on the fires in Australia I have ALWAYS been instructed to sit on a seat (if there was one) and have my seatbelt buckled for take off and landing. Once airborne I was advised I could remove the seatbelt and rely on my harness. NYON was the same. All takeoffs and landings from Kearny or NYC helipads I had my harness on and would sit on the seat with my seatbelt on. On the NYON flights there would be one person sitting on the front seat and two people on the floor either side in the back. All would be tethered into hard points on the aircraft floor. The tether straps are adjustable and would be tightened so that the chances of anyone being able to accidentally slip out would be slim. However saying that there have been cases of pax who loosened themselves off and leant out just to get a "cool" shot. When the pilots of those flights saw that they pax was explained in very blunt and certain terms what they thought of that and they would either sit down and follow the rules or the heli was on its way back.
The comment about the tether being caught around the fuel control lever got me thinking if this was actually possible. I checked with a friend who flies AS350s and he said technically it is possible however would be interested to know where the photographers harness in the front seat was connected to as there is absolutely NO way the tether from one of the photographers in the back seat could become wrapped around the FCL in the front as they all tether behind the pax and are anchored behind them by the back bulkhead.
Many people on here are confusing what NYON do with normal air to air cameraman saying it should just be one cameraman and a director in there etc. Sorry but you are on completely the wrong track. These are dedicated photo flights where you have five photographers onboard shooting images of NYC - also they aren't just the selfie brigade - there are a lot of actual commercial photographers who go along on these flights to shoot scenics of NYC - its a lot cheaper for them than chartering the helicopter just by themselves. Yes the selfie brigade is a big part of the business but not the majority. We only see the instagram images out there because this part of their clientele is very much into social media. Other high profile photographers images do pop up on social media but as a business related post not a "hey look at me" type post. Do I agree with the open door flights for photographers like this - yes and no. Yes because I think its something pretty amazing to be able to view and shoot photos of a city like NY or Miami or Las Vegas from the open door of a helicopter. No - and I say that because even though NYON conduct thorough briefings for the pax I still think they dont understand fully the risks associated with what they are doing. I have been doing this now for nearly 30 years and even now when I go flying I still think about the "what ifs". I am always looking out for other traffic in case we end ups in the same airspace. When I am in a single I am always checking in with the pilot how we are off for fuel (reason for that is we nearly ran out of gas on one shoot). Maybe its just me getting older that I become more aware of the risks. Back when I was the age of those who lost their lives I was more bullet proof and nothing mattered except the fun I was having.
BIGGEST thing I took away from this accident was if I was in a similar situation could I get out. The answer to that would probably be NO. Reason for that is up until now I have always used a harness that has me carabenered onto an aircraft hard point and with a squeeze and release type carabiner that attaches to the back of my harness. I did HUET training some time ago but unless you are up to speed ie: do it every year or so I dont think you would be able to get out of an upside down heli in the water. Yesterday after reading John Eacotts post and editing some photos I shot of the Helitrek BK117 crew in Australia I researched the aircrew harness that has the emergency ripcord type option that with one hard pull on the handle will separate me from the tether. I contacted the manufacturer and placed an order for one. While Priority 1 and ARS make great crewman harnesses which is what I have been using to date, this accident made me realise I want one that is VERY easy to get out of should something happen. On some recent shoots I have been 30-40 mins offshore in a single and I got to thinking about where I was attached, could I have got out easily enough and the answer each time was a resounding NO - something I will admit I never gave much though on until Sunday. So for me this harness will now become standard, it will be like an Amex card - never leave home without it.
So finally my thoughts on where NYON should go from here - it is the USA and these flights will continue. This is what I would do and these are just my thoughts.
1. ALL flights over NYC will go back to using the AS355 twin (please no more single vs twin commentary)
like they had in the beginning. Had they been in the 355 then this thread would not exist. Yes I realise other issues could happen that the second engine would make no difference but in this case it would.
2. Remove and burn every one of those current harnesses they have. Replace them with the harness I mentioned above that give pax a quick and easy way to detach themselves from the aircraft.
3. When water temp is below X degrees then look at using immersion suits - explain its for added safety if something goes wrong. Like someone said they are not that cumbersome these days so its an option.
4. If Option 3 isn't possible then cease doing flights when water temp is below X degrees.
5. Maybe include a fully trained NYON staff member to oversee everything in the back. Give them access to some sort of device that could jettison all attachments of the pax should something happen.
Anyway thats just my 0.2 cents worth. Prob missed a bunch of stuff but decided to put my thoughts down as this accident bought home our own mortality, especially since people like myself, Mike from Vertical, Lyn from Rotorcraft Pro etc spend a LOT of time in the back of different machines in different environments.
Ned
I have seen comments from people saying that this operation was just a way to beat the air tour operations rules. Sorry but totally disagree and I know that for a fact. Pat Day who started NYON, previously NYonAir was and is an avid photographer. He would use their own AS355 at the beginning to go and shoot aerial photos of NYC for a stock library they had back then and also sell the images to clients who wanted unique aerial perspectives of NYC. He then had many people approach them wanting to shoot that same type of image - so they started doing photo flights where Pat would take along one or two others and they would all capture some cool images. I was one of the originals when that was happening. It was offering photographers a unique way of shooting photos of NYC. It was NEVER about trying to circumvent the rules associated with Part 135 tour operators as some on here have stated.
The comment from this photographer who has been after his 15 mins of fame by doing stories and blogs about how he was in the other helicopter about how they didn't brief pax about where the cutter was I find very hard to believe as I have seen, sat through and watched the briefings many many times. My guess is he was told but he was focused on something else and didn't listen. Me - I have been guilty of that myself. Complacency can bite you in the ass - the I have done this many times before and know where stuff is so no need to listen to this bit. Knowing the staff that NYON have based at Kearny Heliport I doubt that any would have not explained this to the pax. However the caveat on this is that I dont know the Liberty pilots that they use when their own machines are busy. Liberty have a lot of pilots and I personally only flew with them maybe once or twice and the ones I did fly with explained everything in detail, however I cant speak for them all.
While I would never be attached into a helicopter the way NYON have their pax anchored they are also caught between a rock and a hard place. Pat and all the team there including the chief pilot, line pilots, owners and staff take safety 110% seriously. They know the risks of what is happening - people who have never flown in a helicopter being harnessed in and you hope to christ that none of them want to have a come to Jesus moment and decide to go free falling. The method they have them anchored in reduces the risk immensely in having one of the harnesses come loose or them inadvertently coming out of it. BUT that has the downside in a situation like this of being able to get out in a hurry in an emergency. I have my own personal device for cutting webbing and from time to time I practice grabbing it and pretending to do it just so I am familiar with where it is located and what I need to do. Do I think these pax could have done this while upside down in the water, after the shock of having an auto into freezing cold water - being blunt not a ****s show. But they obviously had to weigh up the risks - which had a higher priority - stopping someone coming loose of their harness 2000ft up over NYC or catering to what could happen if a heli went down. I cant or wouldn't answer that on their behalf as thats something they decided on.
In regards to peoples comments about being in seatbelts as well. On EVERY flight I have done, whether its been flying on and air to air shoot in NYC or shooting with RFS on the fires in Australia I have ALWAYS been instructed to sit on a seat (if there was one) and have my seatbelt buckled for take off and landing. Once airborne I was advised I could remove the seatbelt and rely on my harness. NYON was the same. All takeoffs and landings from Kearny or NYC helipads I had my harness on and would sit on the seat with my seatbelt on. On the NYON flights there would be one person sitting on the front seat and two people on the floor either side in the back. All would be tethered into hard points on the aircraft floor. The tether straps are adjustable and would be tightened so that the chances of anyone being able to accidentally slip out would be slim. However saying that there have been cases of pax who loosened themselves off and leant out just to get a "cool" shot. When the pilots of those flights saw that they pax was explained in very blunt and certain terms what they thought of that and they would either sit down and follow the rules or the heli was on its way back.
The comment about the tether being caught around the fuel control lever got me thinking if this was actually possible. I checked with a friend who flies AS350s and he said technically it is possible however would be interested to know where the photographers harness in the front seat was connected to as there is absolutely NO way the tether from one of the photographers in the back seat could become wrapped around the FCL in the front as they all tether behind the pax and are anchored behind them by the back bulkhead.
Many people on here are confusing what NYON do with normal air to air cameraman saying it should just be one cameraman and a director in there etc. Sorry but you are on completely the wrong track. These are dedicated photo flights where you have five photographers onboard shooting images of NYC - also they aren't just the selfie brigade - there are a lot of actual commercial photographers who go along on these flights to shoot scenics of NYC - its a lot cheaper for them than chartering the helicopter just by themselves. Yes the selfie brigade is a big part of the business but not the majority. We only see the instagram images out there because this part of their clientele is very much into social media. Other high profile photographers images do pop up on social media but as a business related post not a "hey look at me" type post. Do I agree with the open door flights for photographers like this - yes and no. Yes because I think its something pretty amazing to be able to view and shoot photos of a city like NY or Miami or Las Vegas from the open door of a helicopter. No - and I say that because even though NYON conduct thorough briefings for the pax I still think they dont understand fully the risks associated with what they are doing. I have been doing this now for nearly 30 years and even now when I go flying I still think about the "what ifs". I am always looking out for other traffic in case we end ups in the same airspace. When I am in a single I am always checking in with the pilot how we are off for fuel (reason for that is we nearly ran out of gas on one shoot). Maybe its just me getting older that I become more aware of the risks. Back when I was the age of those who lost their lives I was more bullet proof and nothing mattered except the fun I was having.
BIGGEST thing I took away from this accident was if I was in a similar situation could I get out. The answer to that would probably be NO. Reason for that is up until now I have always used a harness that has me carabenered onto an aircraft hard point and with a squeeze and release type carabiner that attaches to the back of my harness. I did HUET training some time ago but unless you are up to speed ie: do it every year or so I dont think you would be able to get out of an upside down heli in the water. Yesterday after reading John Eacotts post and editing some photos I shot of the Helitrek BK117 crew in Australia I researched the aircrew harness that has the emergency ripcord type option that with one hard pull on the handle will separate me from the tether. I contacted the manufacturer and placed an order for one. While Priority 1 and ARS make great crewman harnesses which is what I have been using to date, this accident made me realise I want one that is VERY easy to get out of should something happen. On some recent shoots I have been 30-40 mins offshore in a single and I got to thinking about where I was attached, could I have got out easily enough and the answer each time was a resounding NO - something I will admit I never gave much though on until Sunday. So for me this harness will now become standard, it will be like an Amex card - never leave home without it.
So finally my thoughts on where NYON should go from here - it is the USA and these flights will continue. This is what I would do and these are just my thoughts.
1. ALL flights over NYC will go back to using the AS355 twin (please no more single vs twin commentary)
like they had in the beginning. Had they been in the 355 then this thread would not exist. Yes I realise other issues could happen that the second engine would make no difference but in this case it would. 2. Remove and burn every one of those current harnesses they have. Replace them with the harness I mentioned above that give pax a quick and easy way to detach themselves from the aircraft.
3. When water temp is below X degrees then look at using immersion suits - explain its for added safety if something goes wrong. Like someone said they are not that cumbersome these days so its an option.
4. If Option 3 isn't possible then cease doing flights when water temp is below X degrees.
5. Maybe include a fully trained NYON staff member to oversee everything in the back. Give them access to some sort of device that could jettison all attachments of the pax should something happen.
Anyway thats just my 0.2 cents worth. Prob missed a bunch of stuff but decided to put my thoughts down as this accident bought home our own mortality, especially since people like myself, Mike from Vertical, Lyn from Rotorcraft Pro etc spend a LOT of time in the back of different machines in different environments.
Ned
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Ned,
I have to ask. You would not be worried about fuel if in a twin?
When I am in a single I am always checking in with the pilot how we are off for fuel (reason for that is we nearly ran out of gas on one shoot).
Hell, me as not a professional photographer I would have refused being strapped to a thing that doesn't float well but that can burn quite well with a harness that I can't unlock myself. But then again I also check the egress routes in hotels or other big buildings.
That said I read that post about the Heli Championships...
Tourists should stay in their seats, belted in normally for quick egress, and never in a harness where it's likely to be their first time.
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https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-r...s/A-10-131.pdf
Hell, has anyone not read this? from 2010
Hell, has anyone not read this? from 2010
The NTSB concludes that the design and location of the FFCL and its detent track in
Eurocopter AS350-series helicopters allows for easy access to and inadvertent movement of the
FFCL, which could cause a serious or catastrophic accident if the movement occurs at a critical
point during flight or on the ground.
Therefore, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the European
Aviation Safety Agency:
Require Eurocopter to review the design of the fuel flow control lever (FFCL)
and/or its detent track on AS350-series helicopters and require modification to
ensure that the FFCL is protected to prevent unintentional movement out of its
detents and that it does not move easily to an unintended position. (A-10-131)
Eurocopter AS350-series helicopters allows for easy access to and inadvertent movement of the
FFCL, which could cause a serious or catastrophic accident if the movement occurs at a critical
point during flight or on the ground.
Therefore, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the European
Aviation Safety Agency:
Require Eurocopter to review the design of the fuel flow control lever (FFCL)
and/or its detent track on AS350-series helicopters and require modification to
ensure that the FFCL is protected to prevent unintentional movement out of its
detents and that it does not move easily to an unintended position. (A-10-131)
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The harness you have pictured is the Air Safety Solutions crew harness. Originally designed as a cameramans harness and heavily used in Australia for that exact purpose. A very comfortable and functional harness which is easy to put on. The quick release mechanism is easy to locate and operate - grab the red pouch and pull - the three ring circus on the rear of the harness gives way and the built in wander lead detaches. (Google for a link to the supplier.)
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The question remains -- why expose tourists to this danger in the first place?
It's easy enough to distinguish between a tourist flight and a professional photo flight, which is where this NYON company seems to be blurring the lines.
A tourist flight is one where the company pilot flies a pre-determined flight path, probably the same one every day. The pax are along for the ride.
A professional photo flight is one where the client consults with the pilot, sets the objective and flight path (within operational and safety limits), and the pilot follows the client's directions.
One of those situations should have pax belted in their seats without a harness for hanging out the doorway and taking selfies and pix of their feet dangling. The other should have good harnesses and people who know how to use them, probably not for the first time.
It's easy enough to distinguish between a tourist flight and a professional photo flight, which is where this NYON company seems to be blurring the lines.
A tourist flight is one where the company pilot flies a pre-determined flight path, probably the same one every day. The pax are along for the ride.
A professional photo flight is one where the client consults with the pilot, sets the objective and flight path (within operational and safety limits), and the pilot follows the client's directions.
One of those situations should have pax belted in their seats without a harness for hanging out the doorway and taking selfies and pix of their feet dangling. The other should have good harnesses and people who know how to use them, probably not for the first time.
If the front passenger had taken his seat belt off (as he was allowed to do once they had taken off), it could have been that that hooked on the cut off or fcl when he tried to put it back on. Happened to me but luckily whilst I was on the ground.
"A professional photo flight is one where the client consults with the pilot, sets the objective and flight path"
The NYON flights do not follow a prescribed path. During the briefings the pilot will consult with the pax and ask if there are any places they want to go and shoot. He will try and encompass as many of the locations as is possible within the flight time. So its not just a doors off tourist flight like Liberty or NY Heli etc.
The NYON flights do not follow a prescribed path. During the briefings the pilot will consult with the pax and ask if there are any places they want to go and shoot. He will try and encompass as many of the locations as is possible within the flight time. So its not just a doors off tourist flight like Liberty or NY Heli etc.
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Don't know if they were circumventing the rules by calling the flight a photo shoot but it seems in this case that only one of the passengers had any experience or credentials as a journalist. The most expensive piece of photographic equipment named so far in the NTSB and media reports is a GoPro camera posting to Instagram.
They weren't, if you read my post above they were always a photo flight from the start with no doors, something that was not being offered anywhere else. They weren't part of a cookie cutter around Manhattan flight like a normal tour flight - they went where the pax wanted to go. Its irrelevant if the pax was a journalist or a professional photographer, thats not who the flights were targeted at. They were targeted towards those with an interest in photography either professional or amateur.