US Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer known as on the Federal Aviation Administration to right away revoke New York Helicopter Constitution Inc.’s license and develop security inspections of different tour operators after a crash final week killed six individuals.
The New York senator criticized the corporate’s use of FAA Half 91 certification — a regulatory framework that allows sightseeing flights with fewer coaching, upkeep and oversight necessities than industrial operators should meet.
“This firm was working beneath the bottom bar of security,” Schumer mentioned Sunday in New York. “Each helicopter tour firm in New York Metropolis is utilizing this identical mannequin — and it’s killing individuals.”
The April 10 crash killed the pilot, a Navy veteran, and 5 passengers — together with a Siemens AG govt, his spouse and their three youngsters ages 10, eight and 4. The plane, a Bell 206 L-4, was on its eighth sightseeing flight of the day when it went down within the Hudson River close to Jersey Metropolis.
Schumer known as on the FAA to droop the corporate’s operations pending the Nationwide Transportation Security Board’s investigation. He additionally urged a rise in ramp inspections — shock checks to make sure compliance with aviation security requirements — for all tour operators within the New York metro space.
“These inspections are like meat or meals security inspections,” Schumer mentioned. “You present up unannounced and see what’s actually occurring.”
The helicopter lacked each a cockpit voice recorder and flight knowledge recorder, in line with the NTSB. Divers proceed to seek for the principle rotor and gearbox, which may assist decide the reason for the crash. Some wreckage has been recovered and is being analyzed by investigators.
New York Helicopter has a troubled security report. Two incidents involving the corporate in 2013 and 2015 have been tied to upkeep failures. The corporate filed for chapter in 2019 after restrictions on helicopter site visitors have been launched.
Schumer mentioned tour operators ought to face stricter laws, together with limits on plane age, better pilot expertise necessities and stronger monetary requirements to stop cost-cutting on security.
“Passengers deserve one stage of security — whether or not they’re flying throughout the nation or across the Statue of Liberty,” he mentioned.
Photograph: The wreckage of a helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River is extracted from the water in Jersey Metropolis, New Jersey, US, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. A helicopter crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, killing all six individuals on board, the newest in a string of incidents prior to now few months that has rattled confidence in aviation security.
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