The aircraft would have made a hard landing on the roof of an office building, located not far from Time Square. The pilot died.
A helicopter crashed on Monday on a building in Midtown, an area of the Manhattan neighborhood where there are many skyscrapers, New York firefighters said on Twitter.
According to local media, the aircraft would have made a “hard landing” on the roof of a 54-story office building, located on 7th Avenue, between 51st and 52nd streets, not far from Time Square, high-rise of tourism in New York. The building houses the American headquarters of the BNP Paribas bank.
The aircraft immediately caught fire, creating the start of a fire and the massive intervention of emergency services. American television images showed a large deployment of fire engines at the foot of several large buildings.
CNN evokes a death toll and one injured. New York firefighters have confirmed that the deceased was the helicopter pilot. It is not known at this stage how many people the aircraft was carrying. The US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) tweeted that the helicopter was an Agusta A109E and preliminary indications were that only the pilot was on board. She said the Federal Transportation Safety Agency (NTSB) would be in charge of the investigation to determine the probable cause of the accident. It is also unclear whether the aircraft received clearance from the control tower at the nearest airport, La Guardia. Some media have claimed that a flight ban was in effect in this area at the time due to the lack of visibility.
«We felt the whole building move»
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was also quick to attend. Ruling out any terrorist hypothesis, he gave some details to the media: “The helicopter had to land urgently on the roof of this building, for an undetermined reason. There are undoubtedly victims among the passengers. No one in the building was injured. A few people were evacuated, ”he said in particular.
“We felt the impact,” said Nathan Hutton, who works in the building. “It was 1:35 pm. We felt the whole building move. We thought it was an earthquake or something. Then, two minutes later, the alarms sounded and security arrived: “Take all your bags and get out right away” ”. He said there was no panic but “a little nervousness”, especially since it took thirty minutes to evacuate everyone from the building.
From Washington, President Donald Trump thanked on Twitter the New York first aid workers who deployed in a few minutes in the building, the firefighters managing to quickly control the fire that broke out during the impact. “The Trump administration is ready to help you if you need anything,” added the ex-New York real estate mogul, as the accident unfolded not far from the Trump Tower , which houses his company.
The weather conditions were bad this Monday morning, as heavy rain, accompanied by fog, fell over New York, allowing poor visibility. The last helicopter crash in Manhattan was in March 2018, when a plane carrying five tourists in search of spectacular views of Manhattan crashed into the East River. Only the pilot had managed to get out.
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