Helikopter - East River havariet - AIN

Fuel Lever, Floats Factor Large in NYC Helo Crash

An NTSB preliminary report released Friday on the fatal doors-off March 11 helicopter photo flight in New York officially reveals the pilot's version of events and the fact that the right side emergency tri-floats appear to have not been fully inflated at the time of impact. The accident killed all five passengers after the Airbus Helicopters AS350B2 lost power and autorotated into the East River and then rolled over on its right side to inverted after impact. The flight was operated by Liberty Helicopters for FlyNYON under the photo exemption of Part 91. The pilot, Rick Vance, escaped with minor injuries and subsequently told investigators of trying to restart his helicopter's engine after a portion of a passenger's supplemental harness possibly snagged the fuel shutoff lever into the off position. A post-accident wreckage examination by the NTSB also found that “the three floats installed on the left landing gear skid appeared to be more inflated than the floats on the right landing gear skid. The emergency floats' left pressurization gas cylinder gauge indicated about zero psi, while the right pressurized gas cylinder gauge indicated about 4,000 psi. The NTSB wreckage investigation discovered that “the fuel control lever was found in the off position. The fuel shutoff lever was found in the open position. The snapwire (witness wire) between the fuel shutoff lever and the engine control housing was broken at its lower end where it is normally secured through a hole in the control housing.” Read Expanded Version