The helicopter that went down in New York City’s Hudson River on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of all six individuals on board, including three children, did not have flight recorders, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NTSB reported late Saturday that no video or camera recorders had been retrieved from the Bell 206 helicopter, and none of the onboard equipment recorded any information useful for the investigation.
Divers from the NYPD are continuing their search for various helicopter components, including the main rotor, gearbox, tail rotor, and tail boom, as stated by the safety agency.
On the previous day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that New York Helicopter Tours, the company involved in the crash, would be suspending its operations immediately.
The FAA confirmed that the company would halt operations right away.
The FAA further stated that it was “analyzing airplane/helicopter hotspots nationwide” and plans to hold a helicopter safety panel on April 22 to discuss its findings.
New York Helicopter Tours indicated on its website that it is directing all inquiries for comments to the FAA and NTSB.
The aircraft, which carried a senior executive from Siemens AG, his wife, and their three children, had its last major inspection on March 1 and had completed seven tour flights prior to the crash, according to federal investigators.
Divers managed to recover the victims, along with the pilot, from the submerged helicopter. Four individuals were pronounced dead at the scene, while the remaining two succumbed to their injuries later at nearby hospitals.
Read more: Six fatalities reported after helicopter crash in New York’s Hudson River
Among the parts that have been retrieved and sent to NTSB laboratories in Washington for examination are the cockpit, cabin, horizontal stabiliser finlets, vertical fin, and a section of the tail boom, as per the NTSB update.
Investigators are also analyzing two similar helicopters in connection with the investigation and have met with representatives from New York Helicopter Charter, the operator of the crashed helicopter, to review operational records, policies and procedures, safety management systems, and the pilot’s qualifications, the agency said.
The helicopter departed from a downtown pad around 3 PM local time (8 PM Irish time) on Thursday, traveling north along the Hudson River, as shared by New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
After reaching the George Washington Bridge, it made a turn south but crashed shortly afterward, hitting the water upside down near Lower Manhattan, just off Jersey City, around 3:15 PM local time.
