NYC Bans 'Doors Off' Helicopter Flights After Deadly Crash

NEW YORK, NY — No risky "doors-off" helicopter flights like the one that ended in five deaths last month will take off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, city officials announced Wednesday. The Economic Development Corporation reached a deal with Saker Aviation Services, the company that operates the heliport, to permanently ban tourist flights on helicopters without doors.

No such flights currently take off from the city-owned heliport, but the move will make sure none ever do, officials said.

"It is our hope that by officially banning doors-off helicopter flights out of New York City, we will help improve air safety within the five boroughs," James Patchett, the Economic Development Corporation's president, said in a statement.

The ban comes after five people died when their doors-off helicopter crashed into the East River on March 11. The sightseeing flight operated by Liberty Helicopter Tours took off from New Jersey.

Just days after the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration halted all doors-off flights in which passengers wear restraints that can't be easily released in an emergency. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

The Downtown Heliport is the busiest of the city's three heliports and the only one that accommodates tour flights, David Hopkins, the EDC's director of aviation, told City Council lawmakers Wednesday.

The ban came ahead of a City Council hearing on a bill that would require the EDC to submit an annual plan to regulate helicopter flights to reduce noise, improve air quality and ensure public safety.

Councilman Peter Koo (D-Queens) said the city should completely bar or significantly cut down on tourist helicopter flights because the noise they generate makes life miserable for some New Yorkers.

"We are not Grand Canyon here," Koo said. "We don't need a helicopter to do a tour in Manhattan."

(Lead image: A helicopter sits on the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. Photo by Roman Babakin/Shutterstock)