A helicopter crash-landed on the roof of a midtown Manhattan building today, sparking a fire and killing one person believed to be the pilot, New York City officials said.
We’re wrapping up our live coverage, but keep reading CNN for more details about today’s crash.
Here’s what we know about the crash:
The pilot who was killed in a helicopter crash in Manhattan today had previously made an emergency landing in 2014, CNN affiliate WABC reported.
In 2014, pilot Tim McCormack made an emergency landing at the West 30th Street heliport when a bird struck the helicopter he was piloting and broke part of the windshield, WABC reported. Six female passengers were in the helicopter. No one was injured in the incident.
In an interview, McCormack cited his 20 years of experience and told WABC he never lost control of the helicopter. His passengers were screaming and crying while he searched for a place to land.
The helicopter was a Bell 407.
The 2014 incident took place at a different heliport than where he took off from today. Today he took off from the heliport on the east side.
What happened today: McCormack was killed today after his took off in a helicopter from the 34th Street heliport at about 1:32 p.m., NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said. It crashed on the roof of 787 Seventh Ave. about 11 minutes later.
Authorities are investigating the crash.
American Continental Properties, the company that owns the helicopter that crashed in New York City, said pilot Tim McCormack flew for them for the past five years.
In a statement issued by public relations firm Stu Loeser & Co., the company said:
The deceased pilot has been identified as Tim McCormack, according to law enforcement sources.
His family has been notified, according to one source.
Based on interviews the NYPD conducted at the 34th Street heliport on Manhattan’s east side, the pilot was waiting out weather but for whatever reason decided it was OK to go, according to a law enforcement source.
The New York Fire Department has concluded their operations at the site of the helicopter crash in midtown Manhattan.
“The NTSB, the FAA, (and) the New York City Police Department are all on the scene to do their investigation, and our operations have concluded at this time,” said Thomas Richardson, chief of fire operations.
Lt. Adrienne Walsh, one of the department’s first responders, described the roof scene as “a debris field that was on fire” in a news conference.
“So I immediately got on the radio to let command know what we had on the roof so they down below could start sending the appropriate resources up to us on the roof,” she said.
Richardson said high-rise buildings present challenges, but the fire department has ways to work around them.
“So whenever we have a fire in a high rise building — 54 stories, it’s over 700 feet tall — we always have challenges being able to get enough water pressure to get up to the higher levels of the building. We have standard operating procedures to do that. We have fire engines that connect to the standpipe system and supply pressure. We also in this type of building use the manual fire pumps that are in the building … to increase the pressure.”
The first firefighters were on scene within five minutes, and “within half an hour we had water on the fire and most of the fire extinguished,” he said.
Based on interviews the NYPD conducted at the 34th Street heliport on Manhattan’s east side, the pilot was waiting out weather but for whatever reason decided it was OK to go.
The pilot then flew around Battery Park on the southern tip of Manhattan and up the west side of the island.
Somewhere between 40th and 49th streets, the pilot began to veer towards midtown Manhattan before the helicopter ultimately made the crash landing.
President Trump said he’s spoken with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo about a helicopter crash in Manhattan.
He said the White House is working closely with New York City and the state of New York.
He noted the pilot of the helicopter had died.
The New York Fire Department just shared these photos of today’s deadly helicopter crash:
The National Transportation Safety Board just tweeted that it is sending an investigator to look into the Manhattan helicopter crash.
New York City officials said a helicopter crash-landed on the roof of a midtown Manhattan building, sparking a fire and killing one person believed to be the pilot.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said there was no indication that the crash was an act of terror, and he said there were no injuries to anyone in the building or on the ground.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city officials just held a news conference to give an update about today’s helicopter crash.
They confirmed that one person, presumed to be the pilot was killed and said that there is no indication that the crash was terror-related.
But there are still a lot of things we don’t know right now:
The helicopter that crashed into a Manhattan building was only in the air for 11 minutes, officials said.
“At approximately 1:32 this afternoon, the helicopter took off at the 34th Street heliport and about 11 minutes later crashed across the street from where we are now,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said at a news conference.
O’Neill said the first 911 calls came in at 1:43 p.m. ET and reported a crash and a fire on top of a 54-story office building on 7th Avenue.
Officials said several agencies are working together to figure out why the helicopter was in the area, and what went wrong.
New York authorities have preliminarily identified the pilot who died in Monday’s helicopter crash.
“We have him preliminarily identified, but it’s not confirmed yet. Plus we’re looking out for his family too,” NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said in a news conference.
Asked if the pilot made a stress call from the helicopter, O’Neill said, “That’s part of the investigation – to see if there was any contact made with air traffic control.”
The building involved in the helicopter crash did not have a landing pad, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told CNN.
“Helicopters have not been landing on buildings in Manhattan for decades,” he said. “There was a horrible crash in what was the Pan Am building some years ago and it was banned after that. And in fact, a helicopter should not in this area of Manhattan without the approve of LaGuardia Airport tower.”
De Blasio added that the helicopter shouldn’t have been in the area especially because of Trump Tower.
The mayor said the aircraft was flown by a “commercial pilot.”
“This is someone who’s been doing this work for a while. Apparently was an executive helicopter used to ferry around executives,” de Blasio said.
The building where a helicopter crashed this afternoon is owned by CALPERS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, according to a tweet by the agency.
“We are aware of the helicopter crash in New York City involving a building in our real estate portfolio,” CALPERS tweeted.
According to the CALPERS website, they manage the largest public pension fund in the US.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there is no indication that today’s helicopter crash is terror related.
Later he again stressed: “We have no indication that there was any terror nexus here.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said there were no other injuries to anyone in the building and on the ground.
The FAA has described the helicopter involved in a hard landing on top of a Manhattan building Monday as an Agusta A109E.
Here’s what we know about this model:
The model referenced in the FAA statement was described in 2013 by the company:
IFR, or instrument flight rules, means the helicopter can fly in lower-visibility situations, but the pilot must also be trained to fly in those conditions.
Law firm Sidley Austin, a major tenant in the building, said its employees were “successfully evacuated” following the helicopter crash.
“First and foremost, the safety and well-being of our people is paramount,” Sidley partner Samir Gandhi said in a statement. “The building has been successfully evacuated, along with all Sidley personnel. We executed our emergency protocols and are actively managing the situation.”
Gandhi confirmed that Sidley has about 700 employees in the building.
Police have closed off a large portion of midtown Manhattan streets to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
The area covers 15 city blocks and two avenues, and it includes New York City’s iconic Times Square and many Broadway theaters.
Upscale restaurant Le Bernardin will be closed this evening due to the helicopter crash, according to Chef Éric Ripert.
Reservations for the three Michelin-starred restaurant are often made a month in advance.
Le Bernardin is located at 155 W. 51st Street and was evacuated after the crash.
