A helicopter crashed in the Hudson River at around 3:15 p.m. on Thursday afternoon near lower Manhattan. City officials have confirmed that least six people were on board and have died in the crash: the pilot, along with a mother, father, and their three children visiting from Spain. A witness told the New York Post that they heard a loud noise and saw the craft split apart in the air before plunging into the Hudson near Pier 40 and West Houston Street. Video has also confirmed that the helicopter split apart in mid-air before falling. FDNY divers and NYPD harbor units are working to remove the aircraft from the water.
New York City has been the site of around 30 helicopter crashes since 1980, killing at least thirty people. After a mid-air collision between a helicopter and a small plane that killed nine people in 2009, the FAA began requiring mandatory transponders on helicopters. Flight plans also became mandatory after 2019.
Nonetheless, the Hudson River remains a high-risk zone for flights due to heavy traffic that is shared by helicopters, small planes, and commercial jets, as well as the recent addition of drones. Helicopter flights as a tourist attraction for sightseeing, beyond flights for commercial and travel purposes, also increase this risk. Officials have confirmed that the flight that went down on Thursday was recreational. This danger is also heightened by the geography of the area, as the river between Manhattan and New Jersey provides only a narrow flight path and the dense cityscape of Manhattan does not offer options to bring down craft safely in the event of an emergency. Another risk is wind shear – a sudden change in wind direction and speed – which can be caused by skyscrapers and can disrupt the stability of aircraft.
