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Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing in the Hudson
Michael Schwirtz and
For the better part of the morning Sunday, the shimmering Manhattan skyline was perhaps the most remarkable sight any boaters on the Hudson River would glimpse. That changed drastically just before noon, when a helicopter dropped out of the sky and splashed into their midst.
The red Bell 206 helicopter belonging to a charter tour company had five people on board, four of them tourists from Sweden, when the pilot made an emergency landing in the river in the vicinity of West 79th Street, the authorities said.
No one on board was injured, thanks in part to skilled flying by the pilot and the quick actions of several boaters, who rescued the passengers before emergency officials arrived, the authorities said.
Sebastian Berthelet was with his family on their boat when they saw the helicopter hit the water. He and his stepson, Lambert De Monte, 16, took a dinghy out to the helicopter to help rescue the passengers, Mr. Berthelet said. All appeared to be in good condition, though a little shaken, he said.
Even with heavy helicopter traffic buzzing at almost all hours above New York, crashes are rare. But they are not unheard-of.
In 2009, a small private plane collided with a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River, killing nine people and leading authorities to impose stricter regulations governing air traffic over the city.
Two years later, another tourist helicopter crashed into the East River, killing one person.
On Sunday, the helicopter’s engine lost power, forcing the pilot to make the emergency landing, according to a preliminary report cited by a police spokesman. The pilot deployed inflatable pontoons, which kept the helicopter upright in the water, the spokesman said.
The helicopter took off from the Wall Street Heliport in downtown Manhattan and fell from an unknown height, a Fire Department spokesman said. He said the helicopter belonged to a company called New York Helicopter. Calls made to the company were not answered on Sunday.
The Fire Department spokesman said the pilot, who was not identified, declined to go to the hospital. The four passengers, two adults and two teenagers, were taken to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital as a precaution, he said. Their names were not released.
Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said in an e-mail that the helicopter had been towed to the West 79th Street Boat Basin, where it was lifted onto a tugboat with a crane. It will be moved to the Wall Street Heliport.
Mr. Berthelet, 38, said he had complimented the pilot on his landing. The pilot, he said, responded that it could have been a lot smoother.
J. David Goodman contributed reporting.
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