Copter crash in NY river kills 1

Associated Press

NEW YORK

A helicopter on a private tour with five people aboard sputtered and crashed into the East River on Tuesday afternoon shortly after takeoff from a riverbank heliport, killing one passenger and injuring three others.

The 40-year-old victim apparently was trapped inside as the chopper sank about 50 feet below the surface of the swift-moving water, police said. New York Police Department divers pulled her from the water about 90 minutes after the Bell 206 Jet Ranger went down around 3 p.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Emergency crews arrived within seconds of the crash to find the helicopter upside-down in the murky water with just its skids showing on the surface. The pilot, Paul Dudley, and three passengers were bobbing, and witnesses reported a man diving down, possibly in an attempt to rescue the remaining passenger.

The passengers were friends of the pilot’s family: a husband and wife who were British and living in Portugal; the wife’s daughter, also British, who died at the scene; and the daughter’s Australian friend. The daughter and friend were living in Australia.

The pilot’s wife, Sunhe Dudley, told The Associated Press that she had spoken to her husband briefly after the crash.

“I think that he’s OK,” she said. “These were actually very dear friends of ours that were in the helicopter.”

The passengers were pulled from the water shortly after emergency crews arrived on the scene, police spokesman Paul Browne said. Fire department rescue paramedics revived both women, who were in critical condition; the man was stable. All were hospitalized. The pilot swam to shore and was uninjured.