Helicopter crash rekindles memories of a far different day

Passersby watch the scene at the site of a helicopter crash in New York. Photo / AP

For hours today, fog had surrounded the skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan, hiding the upper floors behind a gauzy, greyish curtain.

About the time the late-lunch crowd would have been signalling for the cheque, there were noises that seemed out of place, even in noisy Manhattan: the disturbing roar of an aircraft flying low, followed by what some assumed was an explosion.

A helicopter had crashed onto the roof of an office building on Seventh Avenue and burst into flames.

Only the pilot was aboard the doomed aircraft when it hit the roof of the building. He was killed, and investigators were trying to determine if the helicopter was trying to make an emergency landing.

Alerts spread on cellphones and a smoky plume streamed through the fog, unnerving New Yorkers who wondered whether it had been an accident or had been deliberate.

And it rekindled memories of a far different day — September 11, 2001, when jetliners commandeered by terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

The memories of 9/11 were compounded as the 54-storey building was evacuated. Employees streamed down staircases as firefighters rushed in, heading to the roof.

But Governor Andrew Cuomo, who arrived quickly at the scene, said there was no indication of terrorism.

Cuomo acknowledged that the initial reports had jarred nerves. "If you're a New Yorker, you have a level of PTSD, right, from 9/11," Cuomo said. "I remember that morning all too well."

But in contrast to that bright, clear day, the weather was dismal. The visibility was little more than a mile and the cloud ceiling was low. Police Commissioner James O'Neill said the helicopter was flying through restricted airspace.

The crash was the second involving a helicopter in less than a month and the latest of several fatal incidents in and around New York City in the past 20 years. It rekindled long-standing calls for greater restrictions on helicopters flying over such a densely populated region.

The helicopter's home base was an airport in Linden, New Jersey, where Paul Dudley, the airport manager, identified the pilot as Tim McCormack.

He said McCormack worked for American Continental Properties, a real estate concern that said he had flown for the company for five years.

Written by: James Barron and Patrick McGeehan

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