Chopper Pilot in NYC Crash Was Lost in Clouds, Trying to Land

(Bloomberg) -- The pilot on a private helicopter that slammed into a Manhattan high-rise on June 10 became lost in clouds and was trying to return to the East River heliport where he’d taken off minutes earlier.

The pilot, who was flying erratically after entering thick clouds, radioed the East 34th Street helicopter landing pad to say he “did not know where he was,” the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday in a preliminary report.

The helicopter apparently hit the roof of 787 Seventh Avenue at a high speed, descending several hundred feet before striking the roof and breaking into small pieces, according to the report. The pilot, who was not certified to fly in clouds, had told others at the heliport that he thought there was a window in the bad weather through which he could fly.

The route he flew after taking off was erratic, the NTSB said. First he flew south over the East River before reversing course and flying north. Later he flew over Manhattan, zigzagging and changing altitude several times in a zone where helicopters aren’t supposed to fly.

A weather station at nearby Central Park showed clouds were blanketing the city just below the top of the building that was struck.

The helicopter was owned by a corporation linked to New York real estate investment firm American Continental Properties LLC. The Fire Department identified the pilot as Tim McCormack. He was the only person aboard and he died in the accident.

The NTSB didn’t reach a conclusion about the cause of the crash or other factors involved in the flight. For example, while there are questions about whether it was proper for the helicopter to have taken off, the NTSB didn’t make any findings on that issue.

Pilots who aren’t allowed to fly on instruments, such as McCormack, are required to have at least a half mile of visibility across the ground and clouds no lower than 1,200 feet above the ground. They also are required to stay clear of clouds. Visibility at the Central Park weather station was 1.25 miles and the clouds were at about 650 feet, according to NTSB. Investigators didn’t include weather at the 34th Street heliport.

McCormack, who had a total of 3,939 flight hours, spent about two hours at the heliport repeatedly checking the weather as he sought to return to New Jersey, according to the NTSB. He told the staff there that he saw a "twenty-minute window to make it out."

To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Levin in Washington at alevin24@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Laurie Asséo

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