Helicopter With 8 Aboard Crashes in N.Y.’s East River

NEW YORK — A helicopter crashed into the East River as it took off from the 34th Street heliport today with eight people aboard, and at least seven of them were rescued--including one man who was cut from his seat by a firefighter, police said.

Four men and one woman passenger and the pilot and co-pilot were rushed to Bellevue Hospital, with one of the men suffering “severe cardiac arrest,” said police Chief Gerard Kerins, commander of the Manhattan South Precinct.

He said divers were searching the fast-moving river and police were surveying hospitals in an effort to locate the eighth person, apparently another passenger of the New York Helicopter Corp. craft, which was headed for Kennedy Airport.

Police and Coast Guard boats and a rescue helicopter rushed to the scene of the 2:25 p.m. crash. The helicopter, upside down and barely submerged, hit the water not far from shore, officials said.

“I saw it lift off. It rose to about 60 feet. It started heading south, then very sharply it veered to the right and went right down into the water,” said police detective Tom Sullivan, who was driving by at the time. “When it hit, the rotor was going. There was a lot of foam and spray.”

Sullivan said he saw four passengers get out of the craft, “yelling there was still one passenger in the chopper.” He said the pilot and co-pilot stayed with the helicopter while ground crew members tossed a rubber raft and ropes to the passengers in the water.

One rescuer, firefighter Paul Hashagan, said he dived into the helicopter, which had drifted into a pier near the Water Club restaurant, and reached a trapped passenger, still strapped in his seat.

“I pulled out a knife and I cut him free,” said the firefighter.

P. J. McGuire, a waiter at the Water Club, said, “The helicopter just cut out of the air, straight into the water. It’s upside down now. Just the wheels are sticking out.”

Nelson said officials of the National Transportation Safety Board were headed to the scene, as were officials of Island Helicopters, owners of the craft. Operators there said no one was available to comment.