A sightseeing helicopter flying near New York City made an emergency landing after one of its engines failed in midair.
The Bell 206 departed from Kearny, New Jersey, on Tuesday and landed in Bayonne, New Jersey, as it was traveling toward the city.
The Federal Aviation Administration said two people were aboard. CNN reported that the aircraft was on a maintenance flight when the engine problem forced the pilot to land.
According to the outlet, the pilot issued a mayday call, saying: ‘Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.
‘We have low RPMs, we need to land outside the airport. We have an engine out, we’re going to land at Bayonne piers.’
Photographs released after the incident show the helicopter on the ground near several cargo containers. Its tail had been torn away and was left hanging from a fence.
Pieces of what appeared to be white debris were also scattered across the surrounding area.
The aircraft was being operated by FlyNYON when it made the emergency landing. The Daily Mail has contacted the company for comment.
The company’s website states: ‘The NYON Team combines over three generations of aviation experience and 50,000+ flight hours.’
The Bell 206 left Kearny, New Jersey, on Tuesday before landing in Bayonne as it traveled toward New York City
The Federal Aviation Administration said two people were aboard the aircraft, which CNN reported was completing a maintenance flight
Photos show the helicopter beside cargo containers, with its tail torn off and hanging from a fence
Officials said the FAA is working with the National Transportation Safety Board to determine what caused the incident.
The emergency landing follows the deaths of a family of five whose sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River last April.
Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children, aged four, eight and ten, died when the helicopter plunged into the water.
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The family had traveled to New York to celebrate one of their daughters’ birthdays.
They had arrived from Barcelona and were taking their first sightseeing trip around the Big Apple, flying past the Statue of Liberty before heading toward the George Washington Bridge.
Video from the final moments of the flight appeared to show a rotor blade striking the water and separating from the aircraft.
Michael Roth, 71, owner of New York Helicopter, which operated the tour and provided the aircraft, said the helicopter had been running low on fuel before the crash.
‘He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,’ Roth told The Telegraph.
Roth said he was devastated by the crash. Photos taken before the flight showed the Escobar parents and their children, aged four, eight and ten, posing on the helipad and inside the helicopter.
Agustín Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal and their children, aged four, eight and ten, posed for photos shortly before the fatal flight
The aircraft was operated by New York Helicopter, a local sightseeing company. It appeared to be registered as N216MH, a Bell 206L-4—the same model involved in Tuesday’s incident.
The Bell 206 was in the air for about 16 minutes before crashing into the river. It had taken off from the Wall Street Heliport and made a loop near the Statue of Liberty.
The helicopter then turned north along the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge, where it ultimately went down.
In 2018, a doors-off sightseeing helicopter crashed into New York City’s East River, killing all five passengers aboard.
Those killed were Brian McDaniel, 26, Trevor Cadigan, 26, Carla Vallejos Blanco, 29, Tristan Hill, 29, and Daniel Thompson, 34.
The pilot told investigators that the crash occurred after a tether intended to protect passengers became caught on a fuel shutoff switch several minutes into the scheduled 30-minute flight, cutting power to the engine.
He said that after the engine stopped, he attempted to glide the helicopter away from densely populated areas, including tall buildings and Central Park. He did not realize the fuel shutoff switch was responsible until looking down at it shortly before impact.
