Pilots Warned Tour Company Before Fatal East River Crash: Report

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Pilots warned sightseeing company executives about dangerous conditions months before a helicopter crashed into the East River and killed five passengers, according to reports.

Pilots for FlyNYON, a New Jersey-based company which offers photo and sightseeing aerial tours of New York City, warned bosses in the months leading up to the March 11 crash that the company was "setting ourselves up for failure," according to internal emails acquired by the New York Times. Pilots were specifically concerned about safety equipment that would make it difficult for passengers to free themselves from the helicopter in case of an emergency, according to the report.

FlyNYON Chief Executive Patrick K. Day responded to the pilots concerns in an email stating that "'et me be clear, this isn’t a safety issue with the harnesses," the New York Times reported. Day told the Times that executives at the company did not ignore concerns brought up by the pilots.

Five passengers of a FlyNYON tour died March 11 when the helicopter they were aboard crashed into the East River. The five passengers were secured into their seats by harnesses and had to be cut out of the aircraft, officials said. The helicopter had also inverted upon crashing into the river, officials said.

"It took a while for the divers to get these people out, they worked very quickly, as fast as they could," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the night of the crash. "It's a great tragedy that we had occur here on an otherwise quiet Sunday evening."

The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the cause of the fatal crash since March. In an initial report, the NTSB did not reveal the cause of the crash, but didpaint a picture of the moments before the helicopter went down.

Pilot Richard Vance had flown multiple 15- to 30-minute sightseeing flights on March 11, according to federal investigators. Around 6:45 p.m. he received a text from photography tour company FlyNYON to schedule the eventual accident flight for 7 p.m., the NTSB report states.

At one point in the flight, the front seat passenger slid toward Vance in an attempt to take a photo of his feet outside the helicopter, according to an NTSB report. At the same time, Vance attempted to make a right turn and the nose of the helicopter turned faster than expected, the pilot told investigators. The pilot then observed engine pressure and fuel pressure warning lights, which led him to believe the helicopter engine was failing.

The NTSB is still investigating what led to the fatal crash. After inspecting the aircraft, investigators concluded that there were no signs of oil or fuel leaks, according to the NTSB report. The helicopter's fuel shutoff lever was found in the open position, but investigators did not conclude that was the reason for the crash

The victims of the crash were identified as Tristian Hill and Daniel Thompson of New York; Brian McDaniel and Trevor Cadigan of Texas; and Carla Vallejos Blanco of Argentina, the Police Department said.

Read the full New York Times report here.

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images News/Getty Images