A sightseeing helicopter operating near New York City was forced to make 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, while heading toward the city.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said two people were aboard. CNN reported that the helicopter was on a maintenance flight when the emergency occurred.
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.’
Images released after the incident show the helicopter on the ground beside several cargo containers. Its tail had been torn away and was left hanging from a fence.
White debris can also be seen scattered across the surrounding ground.
The aircraft was being operated by FlyNYON when it came down. 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.’
Officials said the FAA is working with the National Transportation Safety Board to determine what caused the incident.
Family of five killed in Hudson River helicopter crash last April
Tuesday’s emergency landing came after five members of a family were killed when a 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.
The family had traveled to New York to celebrate one of their daughters’ birthdays.
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They had arrived from Barcelona and were spending their first day touring the city, taking a scenic helicopter flight around the Statue of Liberty and north toward the George Washington Bridge.
Disturbing footage from the final moments of the flight appeared to show a rotor blade striking the water before separating from the aircraft.
Michael Roth, 71, owner of New York Helicopter, which provided the tour and 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. Heartbreaking photographs showed the Escobar parents and their children, aged four, eight and ten, posing on the helipad and inside the helicopter before the flight.
Five passengers killed in 2018 East River helicopter crash
The aircraft was operated by New York Helicopter, a local sightseeing company. It appeared to be N216MH, a Bell 206L-4—the same model involved in Tuesday’s incident.
The Bell 206 was in the air for approximately 16 minutes before crashing into the river. It had taken off from the Wall Street Heliport and circled near the Statue of Liberty.
The helicopter then turned north along the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge, where it eventually went down.
In 2018, a doors-off sightseeing helicopter crashed into the East River, killing all five passengers aboard.
Those who died were Brian McDaniel, 26, Trevor Cadigan, 26, Carla Vallejos Blanco, 29, Tristan Hill, 29, and Daniel Thompson, 34.
The helicopter crashed after a tether intended to protect passengers became caught on a fuel shutoff switch several minutes into the scheduled 30-minute flight, stopping the engine, the pilot told investigators.
After the engine stopped, the pilot said he tried to glide the helicopter away from densely populated areas, including tall buildings and Central Park. He did not realize the fuel shutoff switch had caused the failure until looking down at it shortly before impact.
