New York, : A helicopter made a crash landing on top of a building in Manhattan leaving one person dead.
The helicopter crashed into a 54-story building located at 787 7th Ave in Manhattan at 1.45 p.m. EST on Monday, the New York Fire Department (FDNY) said late on Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said preliminary information suggests that only the pilot was aboard the helicopter at the time of the crash.
The crash sparked a fire on the roof of the building, which is not equipped with a helicopter landing pad. The blaze has since been extinguished and the area evacuated. City authorities announced road closures and urged people to avoid the area.
“Whenever we have a fire on a high-rise office building – 54 stories is over 700 feet tall – we have challenges getting enough water pressure up to the higher levels of the building, but we have Standard Operating Procedures in place. We have fire engines that connect to the stand pipe system and supply pressure. We also use the manual fire pumps in the building to increase the pressure. We arrived on the scene within five minutes, and most of the fire was extinguished within a half hour. FDNY operations have now concluded. We had 43 FDNY units on scene, and our members operated bravely and with efficiency”, FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Thomas Richardson said.
The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will handle the investigation and determine the probable cause of the accident.
Meanwhile US President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he has been apprised of the crash and that his administration stands ready to provide assistance.
“I have been briefed on the helicopter crash in New York City. Phenomenal job by our GREAT First Responders who are currently on the scene. THANK YOU for all you do 24/7/365! The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all.” he tweeted.
UNI.
