American Eurocopter Corp AS350B2 accident near New York, NY
On March 11, 2018, an American Eurocopter Corp AS350B2 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near New York, NY. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 11, 2018
- Place
- New York, NY
- Aircraft
- American Eurocopter Corp AS350B2 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.776°N, 73.940°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180311X13013
Official records · ERA18MA099
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
- Investigation page: status, final report and safety recommendations
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control - N350LH Ground Track: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Air Traffic Control - FAA Chronological Summary of Flight and Partial Transcription of Voice Recordings: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Air Traffic Control Transcript - NTSB Specialist's Factual Report: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Air Traffic Control - FAA Radar Tabular Data: Document (XLSX), on ntsb.gov
- Onboard Image, Audio, and Data Recorder (Appareo Vision 1000) - Specialist's Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-19/04. On March 11, 2018, about 1908 eastern daylight time, an Airbus Helicopters AS350 B2, N350LH, lost engine power during cruise flight, and the pilot performed an autorotative descent and ditching on the East River in New York, New York. The pilot sustained minor injuries, the five passengers drowned, and the helicopter was substantially damaged. The FlyNYON-branded flight was operated by Liberty Helicopters Inc. (Liberty), per a contractual agreement with NYONair; both companies considered the flight to be an aerial photography flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. (During this accident investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration determined that Liberty operated the flight as a nonstop commercial air tour under 14 CFR Part 91.) Visual flight rules weather conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the intended 30-minute local flight, which departed from Helo Kearny Heliport, Kearny, New Jersey, about 1850.
Probable cause
Liberty Helicopters Inc.'s use of a NYONair-provided passenger harness/tether system, which caught on and activated the floor-mounted engine fuel shutoff lever and resulted in the in-flight loss of engine power and the subsequent ditching. Contributing to this accident were (1) Liberty's and NYONair's deficient safety management, which did not adequately mitigate foreseeable risks associated with
From Wikipedia
On March 11, 2018, a sightseeing Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopter crashed into the East River off the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, killing five people. Two passengers died at the scene, and three others were pronounced dead at the hospital. The pilot escaped the helicopter following the crash. The aircraft was operated by Liberty Helicopters for FlyNyon.
Text from Wikipedia, “2018 New York City helicopter crash”, CC BY-SA 4.0; shortened to the introduction. Authors.
More accidents in NY
- Airbus Industrie A300B4-605R, Nov 12, 2001
- Boeing 747-131, Jul 18, 1996
- Bombardier Inc DHC-8-402, Feb 13, 2009
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-40, Apr 12, 2025
- Piper PA-31-350, Dec 15, 1989
Browse: New York
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
