Photo: NBCNews.com
A helicopter crashed and caught fire on the roof of a high-rise building in Midtown Manhattan, New York, during lunch rush hour, prompting a rapid and impressive police response.
NBC News reports that it took police and firefighters 4 minutes to get to the scene of the crash and start evacuating the building, a 54-story building close to Trump Tower, where airspace is heavily restricted. The first suspicion was that this was a terrorist attack.
After the pilot of the helicopter was identified, NYPD were able to deny reports of a new terrorist attack. Tim McCormack, the pilot, had dropped off a passenger at the East 34th Steet heliport, and got back in the air to return home, to New Jersey, despite the stormy weather. He thought he saw a clearing in the clouds which would have allowed him to fly safely.
About 11 minutes in the air, he asked for permission to return. Eyewitnesses saw the helicopter going up and down and into the clouds, until it eventually crash-landed on the top of the building and went up in smoke. McCormack was alone in the bird when it happened and he died on the spot. He was an experienced pilot and the ongoing investigation will determine who gave him the permission to fly in such bad weather.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tells NBC News that, while the fear of a terrorist attack is understandable in all New Yorkers, they should rest assured that this wasn’t the case here.
“The only indication was a helicopter had to do an emergency or a hard landing, or crashed onto the rooftop of a building,” Cuomo told the media after the hard landing. “There’s no indication of anything more than that.”
“If you’re a New Yorker, you have a level of PTSD from 9/11 and I remember that morning all too well. So as soon as you hear an aircraft hit a building, I think my mind goes where every New Yorker’s goes,” Cuomo added.
President Donald Trump tweeted about the helicopter crash, praising the NYPD for their swift response and saying that the Trump Administration is there to assist the department in whatever it may need in the investigation.
After the pilot of the helicopter was identified, NYPD were able to deny reports of a new terrorist attack. Tim McCormack, the pilot, had dropped off a passenger at the East 34th Steet heliport, and got back in the air to return home, to New Jersey, despite the stormy weather. He thought he saw a clearing in the clouds which would have allowed him to fly safely.
About 11 minutes in the air, he asked for permission to return. Eyewitnesses saw the helicopter going up and down and into the clouds, until it eventually crash-landed on the top of the building and went up in smoke. McCormack was alone in the bird when it happened and he died on the spot. He was an experienced pilot and the ongoing investigation will determine who gave him the permission to fly in such bad weather.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tells NBC News that, while the fear of a terrorist attack is understandable in all New Yorkers, they should rest assured that this wasn’t the case here.
“The only indication was a helicopter had to do an emergency or a hard landing, or crashed onto the rooftop of a building,” Cuomo told the media after the hard landing. “There’s no indication of anything more than that.”
“If you’re a New Yorker, you have a level of PTSD from 9/11 and I remember that morning all too well. So as soon as you hear an aircraft hit a building, I think my mind goes where every New Yorker’s goes,” Cuomo added.
President Donald Trump tweeted about the helicopter crash, praising the NYPD for their swift response and saying that the Trump Administration is there to assist the department in whatever it may need in the investigation.
Images from the scene of today’s helicopter crash at 787 7th Ave. in Manhattan. #FDNY members remain on scene. There is one fatality reported. pic.twitter.com/7qyyJWrMsw
— FDNY (@FDNY) June 10, 2019
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