A sightseeing helicopter serving 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 was heading toward New York City when it landed in Bayonne, New Jersey.
The Federal Aviation Administration said two people were aboard. CNN reported that the aircraft was conducting a maintenance flight when the engine problem occurred.
According to the news 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 taken after the landing showed the helicopter on the ground beside cargo containers. Its tail had been torn away and was left hanging from a fence.
Several pieces of what appeared to be white debris were also scattered across the surrounding area.
FlyNYON was operating the aircraft when the incident occurred. 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 emergency.
Family of five killed in Hudson River helicopter crash last April
Tuesday’s emergency landing followed the deaths of a family of five in a sightseeing helicopter crash over 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, were killed when the helicopter plunged into the river.
The family had traveled to New York to celebrate one of their daughters’ birthdays.
They had recently arrived from Barcelona and were on their first day exploring the city. Their helicopter tour took them 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 and separating from the helicopter.
Michael Roth, 71, owner of New York Helicopter, which operated the tour and supplied the aircraft, said the helicopter had been running out of 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 Escobar, his wife 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 helicopter 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 emergency landing.
The Bell 206 was in the air for about 16 minutes before crashing into the water. It had departed from the Wall Street Heliport and circled near the Statue of Liberty.
The aircraft 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 on board.
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.
The pilot said he tried to glide away from densely populated areas, including tall buildings and Central Park, after the engine stopped. He did not realize the fuel shutoff switch was responsible until he looked down at it shortly before impact.
