The Latest: Copter crash probe will eye floats, even photos

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on a helicopter crash in the East River off New York City (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

Federal investigators say they’ll examine everything from flotation devices to passengers’ harnesses to photos that might be on their cameras as they determine why a tour helicopter crashed and sank in New York City’s East River.

National Transportation Safety Board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said Monday it will be some time before that finding is made.

Sunday’s crash killed all five passengers aboard. Pilot Richard Vance survived.

Dinh-Zarr said the helicopter’s floats inflated, but investigators will look at whether they deployed properly.

A federal official told The Associated Press the pilot told authorities he believed a passenger’s bag might have hit an emergency fuel shutoff switch. The official was briefed on the investigation but was not authorized to speak publicly about it and spoke Monday on condition of anonymity.

3:15 p.m.

A federal official tells The Associated Press that the pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash in New York City’s East River told investigators he believed a passenger’s bag might have hit an emergency fuel shutoff switch in the moments before the chopper went down.

The official also says the National Transportation Safety Board is looking closely at why an emergency flotation device on the helicopter apparently did not deploy properly. The floats are supposed allow a helicopter to stay upright, rather than overturning and submerging.

The official was briefed on the investigation but was not authorized to speak publicly about it and spoke Monday on condition of anonymity.

Sunday’s crash killed all five passengers. Pilot Richard Vance was able to free himself and was rescued.

— By Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles

2:15 p.m.

New York’s U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer says federal regulators should temporarily halt flights by the owner of a helicopter that went down in New York City’s East River, killing five passengers.

The Democrat is calling on the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend Liberty Helicopters’ operating license until the facts of the crash are known.

Schumer said Monday the tour and charter company shouldn’t fly until officials “get to the bottom of this.”

The FAA hasn’t commented on Schumer’s suggestion.

Liberty Helicopters is referring all inquiries about Sunday’s crash to federal authorities.

———

1:15 p.m.

A video journalist who had worked at a business news site was among the five passengers killed when a helicopter went down in New York City’s East River.

Business Insider says Trevor Cadigan was “smart, talented, and ambitious” and “made a big contribution” during an internship there. It ended a few weeks ago.

His profile on the site says he was originally from Dallas. So was one of the other passengers, Dallas Fire-Rescue Officer Brian McDaniel.

An Argentine woman, Carla Vallejos Blanco, was also one of the victims.

Helicopter owner Liberty Helicopters is referring all inquiries to investigators.

The cause of the crash Sunday hasn’t been determined. The pilot was heard on an emergency radio transmission saying there was an engine failure.

The pilot was able to free himself and was rescued by a tugboat. All five passengers died.

———

12:15 p.m.

A Dallas firefighter and an Argentine woman were among the five passengers killed when a helicopter went down in New York City’s East River.

Argentina’s New York consulate said Monday that Carla Vallejos Blanco was one of the victims in the crash Sunday night.

The Dallas Fire-Rescue Department confirmed that Fire-Rescue Officer Brian McDaniel also died. The 26-year-old firefighter had been with the department since May 2016.

New York officials said the charter helicopter was hired for a photo shoot. Owner Liberty Helicopters is referring all inquiries to investigators.

The pilot was heard on an emergency radio transmission saying there was an engine failure.

The pilot was able to free himself and was rescued by a tugboat.

———

11:30 a.m.

The company that owns a helicopter that went down in New York City’s East River, killing five passengers, says in a statement that it’s focused on supporting the victims’ families and cooperating with federal investigators.

Liberty Helicopters is referring inquiries about the crash Sunday night to investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team on Monday.

The pilot was heard on an emergency radio transmission saying there was an engine failure.

The pilot freed himself and was rescued by a tugboat. Emergency divers had to remove the passengers from tight harnesses while they were upside down.

The charter helicopter was hired for a photo shoot. Liberty Helicopters offers both private charters and sightseeing tours popular with tourists.

———

10 a.m.

A pilot whose helicopter went down in Manhattan’s East River, killing five passengers, says in an emergency radio transmission that he had engine failure.

The pilot is heard saying “Mayday, mayday, mayday” during the crash on Sunday night.

The person at the other end of the transmission had trouble making out what the pilot was saying.

The pilot reported “an engine failure over the East River” and referenced a hotel.

The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators on Monday.

The charter helicopter was hired for a photo shoot.

The pilot freed himself and was rescued by a tugboat. Emergency divers had to remove the passengers from tight harnesses while they were upside down.

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