At the end of February, the National Transportation Safety Board released the findings of its investigation of the crash of a Bell 206 JetRanger into New York’s East River in October 2011. The helicopter, with five aboard, had just taken off from the riverside East 34th Street Heliport when it began to yaw out of control and fell into the water. It floated for some time inverted, its skids above the surface. The pilot and front-seat passenger escaped, swam to the surface, and then made repeated efforts to dive down, open the rear doors and extricate the three women still in the back seat. The pilot had succeeded in pulling two of the women out when the helicopter sank in 35 feet of water. The two, who were in critical condition after the rescue, died subsequently of the consequences of oxygen deprivation, the second one 33 days after the accident.
The surviving passenger, 71, recalled an erratic motion, an exclamation of dismay from the pilot and the nose of the helicopter striking the water. The inverted cabin — because of the weight of the rotor, helicopters that crash in water always flip over — rapidly filled with murky, turbulent water. He struggled to release his seat belt. He had no recollection of opening the door (the pilot reported that he had pushed him out), but he found himself swimming up toward the light. When he tried to help the women, he felt a limp arm through an open window, but he could not open the door.
