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The pilot was killed Monday when his helicopter crashed against the roof of a skyscraper in New York City was not allowed to fly in reduced visibility, according to his pilot certification which raises questions as to why he took off in fog and rain.
Tim McCormack, 58, was certified only by rules known as visual flight rules, which generally require mild weather and clear weather, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The rules require at least 4.8 km of visibility and the aircraft must stay clear of clouds for daytime flights. At the time of Monday's collision, visibility was about 2 km in Central Park, with low clouds covering the skyline.
The accident in the tightly controlled airspace of downtown Manhattan shook the AXA Equitable building, 229 meters high, destroyed the Agusta A109E helicopter, caused a fire and forced office workers to take action. the escape.
This briefly caused 9/11 memories and fears of a terrorist attack, but the authorities said that there was no indication that the accident was deliberate.
The crash, the second in Manhattan in one month, also led to new calls for the restriction of helicopter flights over the city.
Representative Carolyn Maloney, who represents the region where McCormack crashed, said it was "time" for the FAA to ban "useless helicopters" from the city skies.
Democratic colleague Nydia Velazquez said she wanted tourist flights to be interrupted. Last year, five passengers were killed when a tourist helicopter crashed in the East River.
"The risks for New Yorkers are just too high," Maloney said.
Investigator Doug Brazy said at a National Transportation Safety Bureau briefing that McCormack had arrived at a heliport on the East River in New York after a trip carrying a neighboring county passenger from Westchester.
The passenger told investigators that the 15-minute flight was nothing out of the ordinary, Brazy said.
Mr. McCormack waited about two hours at the heliport and examined the weather before taking off for what was supposed to be a trip to his helicopter's airport in Linden, New Jersey, Brazy said.
This trip would have taken the helicopter south, over the city's harbor and beyond the Statue of Liberty.
The investigators were viewing a social media video of a helicopter they saw as a convicted helicopter, hovering and hovering near the heliport, then turning around and flying erratically to the north as a result of rain and clouds.
The helicopter struck the building about 11 minutes after takeoff, in an area where the flights are not supposed to take place.
A flight restriction in effect since the inauguration of President Donald Trump prohibits aircraft from flying below 914 meters within a 1.6-kilometer radius of Trump Tower, only a few blocks from the venue from the accident.
Helicopters entering and exiting the heliport are only allowed to fly into the restricted area when they have permission and communicate with the air traffic control.
Brazy stated that the pilot had never made such a request and had never contacted air traffic control, although the investigators had attempted to verify the information that McCormack had telephoned somebody. one just before the accident.
It is not known whether the authorities knew, prior to the accident, that the helicopter had entered a restricted airspace.
"These questions are part of our investigation," said security bureau spokesman Terry Williams.
Brazy said that the planned route from McCormack to Linden would not have required him to contact air traffic control. The helicopter was not equipped with a flight data recorder or voice recorder in the cockpit, he said.
To the question of whether time could play a role, Brazy said: "It's certainly one of the most interesting concerns we have."
"Should the helicopter have stolen? I do not know yet," he said.
The helicopter that crashed belonged to a real estate company and was used for "executive trips," authorities said.
In New York, helicopters offering tourists a bird's eye view of landmarks represent the majority of take-offs. These flights have been halved, reaching about 30,000 flights a year, under an agreement reached in 2016 between operators and the city, which operates two of Manhattan's three commercial heliports.
But a new Uber service threatens to overwhelm the sky again.
The mobile phone service announced last week that it would begin helicopter flights between Manhattan and Kennedy Airport at the rate of $ 200, drawing the attention of Velazquez and Corey City Council Chairman Johnson, a Democrat, who asked, "Is this really necessary? Is it safe?"
John Dellaportas, president of the Stop the Chop Defense Group, said only public safety and medical theft should be allowed.
"It's a bit like groundhog day, every time there's a deadly crash, politicians say big things and then everyone goes back to their business," said L & # 39; lawyer Dellaportas.
Sam Goldstein, spokesman for the New York Tourism Helicopter Industry, said the operators "have already regulated themselves so that they are safe, predictable and good neighbors".
McCormack, a former fire chief in northern Clinton Corners State, had 15 years of experience in flying helicopters and single-engine aircraft and had been certified flight instructor. Last year, according to FAA records.
McCormack was a "very experienced" and "highly esteemed" pilot, said Linden Airport Director Paul Dudley.
Brazy said that a rescue team should begin moving the roofwreck Tuesday to a secure place, possibly taking pieces off the stairs and the elevator.
"The location – in the city and on the roof of a building – is probably the biggest challenge of the investigation," Brazy said.
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