Helicopter charter company involved in New York crash that left six dead had previous issues

The New York City-based helicopter tour company involved in the deadly crash on Thursday has previous incidents of aircraft malfunctions, according to records with the National Transportation Safety Board. The company, called New York Helicopter Charter, has been operating helicopter tours of New York City and New Jersey for more than 30 years. The business managed the Bell 206 aircraft that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon, killing all six passengers on board. According to records with NTSB, New York Helicopter Charter was involved in two non-fatal incidents, one in 2013 in which a helicopter’s engine failed while five people were on board and another in 2015 in which a pilot made a “hard landing” while 20 feet in the air. The Independent has reached out to New York Helicopter Charter for comment. In 2013, one of New York Helicopter Charter’s aircraft suddenly lost engine power while a pilot was flying a family of four near the 79th Street Boat Basin. The family, two adults and two teenagers, were visiting from Sweden. In that incident, the pilot quickly deployed skid-mounted floats upon realizing the helicopter was “going down,” and landed in the Hudson River. No person on board was seriously injured and a nearby passenger boat helped all five safely get to shore. Michael Roth, the owner of New York Helicopter Charter, told the Wall Street Journal at the time he had “no clue” why the aircraft lost power and that the helicopter underwent routine inspections daily.<br/>