A helicopter crash-landed on the roof of a midtown Manhattan building Monday, sparking a fire and killing the pilot, New York City officials said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said there was no indication that the accident was an act of terror and he said there were no injuries to anyone in the building or on the ground.
“I just want to say, thank God for that. It could have been a much worse incident,” he said.
The helicopter took off from the 34th Street heliport at about 1:32, said NYPD commissioner James O’Neill and crashed on the roof of 787 Seventh Ave. about 11 minutes later.
A fire broke out when the helicopter crashed, and the FDNY reached the roof and fired the fire quickly, FDNY commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
The late pilot was identified as Tim McCormack, law enforcement sources said. His family was informed, according to one source.
By the time of the incident, moderate to heavy rainfall fell in the city and visibility at Central Park was up to 1.25 miles. Windse was from east at 9 mph.
Based on interviews with the NYPD on the 34th Street heliport on Manhattan’s eastern side, the pilot was out, but for some reason decided it was good to go, another law enforcement source told CNN.
The pilot then flew around Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, to the west of the island, and then, somewhere in the streets of the 40s, the hub of Manhattan began before the end of the accident, the law enforcement source said.
It is unclear whether McCormack made an emergency call from the Agusta A109E helicopter before the accident.
“This is part of the investigation, to see if there was any air traffic control,” NYPD Commissioner O’Neill said.
