5 Dead, CT Pilot Rescued After NYC Helicopter Crash

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Five people died after a helicopter crashed into the East River on Sunday night, police and fire officials said. The pilot who is from Connecticut was able to free himself from the helicopter and was rescued. He is the lone survivor.

The private helicopter descended into the river near East 86th Street around 7 p.m., NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said. The helicopter crashed down in the middle of the river, about 50 feet from the shore, the NYPD commissioner said.

Six people were on board when the helicopter went down, O'Neill said. The pilot was able to free himself from the aircraft, but five passengers had to be rescued by FDNY and NYPD divers, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Sunday.

Three of the five passengers were taken to the hospital in critical condition and two were pronounced dead on the scene, Nigro said. The three people taken to the hospital were later pronounced dead, an NYPD spokesman said.

The helicopter's pilot was rescued and taken to the hospital, and is "ok" Nigro said. The pilot was identified as 33-year-old Richard Nash of Danbury, Connecticut, an NYPD spokesman said.

The rescue operation was made difficult due to the distance of the crash from shore, a four mile-per-hour current, cold temperatures and the fact that the helicopter flipped upside down in the water, police and fire officials said. The five passengers were secured into their seats by harnesses and had to be cut out of the aircraft, officials said.

"It took a while for the divers to get these people out, they worked very quickly, as fast as they could," Nigro said Sunday.

"It's a great tragedy that we had occur here on an otherwise quiet Sunday evening."

The FAA said the helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350, went down around 7 p.m. and is reportedly inverted in the water. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the FAA said. The aircraft was owned by New Jersey-based Liberty Helicopter Tours and was chartered for a photo shoot, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said.

New York City Ferry service on the Astoria and East River routes was suspended after the crash, according to NYC Emergency Management.

A witness posted video of the moment the helicopter crashes into the East River. The aircraft is seen touching down on the river's surface and flipping onto its side as its rotor blades slice into the water.

Photo Courtesy of FDNY