Helicopter Scares in New York, Philadelphia
The three people who were on board a WNBC-TV helicopter are
counting their lucky stars after the aircraft slammed into one
building and fell onto another Tuesday evening. Neither the
reporter nor the two crew members on board was seriously hurt.
"I could hear boop, boop, boop, like the sound of a motorcycle,
but real loud," said Roger Green, who lives about a block from the
Brooklyn (NY) crash site. "So I looked out the window, and it was
spinning around out of control. And then it dropped down behind
some trees."
The crew aboard Aerospatial AS-350 had just completed a live
report on a shooting when the helo began to spin and pitch out of
control.
It was the second major crash involving a WNBC aircraft since
1986. Then, traffic reporter Jane Dornacker was killed when the
helicopter she was flying in crashed into New Jersey's Hackensack
River.
Too Close For Comfort
Hours after the WNBC chopper went down, another news helicopter,
flown for KYW-TV in Philadelphia, had an uncomfortably close
encounter with a Piper Warrior. The news helicopter was covering a
fire in northeaster Philadelphia when its pilot had to maneuver
abruptly to avoid the fixed-wing aircraft.
KYW reports the single-engine aircraft was flying without
navigation lights and was unresponsive to radio calls.
Police say the aircraft had taken off earlier in the day from
Camden County Airport in Berlin (NJ). Upon landing there later in
the evening, the pilot was surrounded by police officers and
searched. There's no word on his identity or on charges he might
face.
FAA Preliminary Accident Report
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 4NY
Make/Model: AS50 Description:
AS-350/550 ECUREUIL, ASTAR, SUPERSTAR, F
Date: 05/04/2004 Time: 2230
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Serious Mid Air: N
Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City:
BROOKLYN
State: NY Country: US
DESCRIPTION
A HORSHAM VALLEY AIRWAYS, N4NY, AS350BA AEROPATIALE ROTORCRAFT
CRASHED ONTO A ROOFTOP OF A BUILDING WHEN IT EXPERIENCED A
TAIL ROTOR PROBLEM, THREE PERSONS ON BOARD SUSTAINED SERIOUS
INJURIES, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED, BROOKLYN, NY
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 0
# Crew: 2 Fat:
0 Ser:
2 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 1 Fat:
0 Ser:
1 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: SPECI JFK 042229Z31014G20KT 10SM FEW065 BKN250 15/M03
A2996
OTHER DATA
Activity: Business Phase:
Maneuver Operation: General
Aviation
Departed:
UNK
Dep Date: Dep.
Time:
Destination:
UNK
Flt Plan: UNK
Wx Briefing: U
Last Radio Cont: UNK Last Clearance: UNK
FAA FSDO: FARMINGDALE, NY
(EA11)
Entry date: 05/05/2004