Helicopter: River Landing Comes After Power Loss

A helicopter was forced to make a crash landing in the Hudson River over the weekend after power loss shut down the engines. According to The New York Times, a charter tour helicopter carrying four to...
Helicopter: River Landing Comes After Power Loss
Written by Amanda Crum

A helicopter was forced to make a crash landing in the Hudson River over the weekend after power loss shut down the engines.

According to The New York Times, a charter tour helicopter carrying four tourists from Sweden had to make a crash landing in the water on Sunday and, thanks to quick thinking on the pilot’s part and quick action by nearby boaters, no one was seriously injured. Sebastian Berthelet, who was out on the water for the day with his family, grabbed a dinghy and helped rescue those inside.

“In the beginning we thought it was an exercise, just a helicopter trying to land in the water,” Berthelet said. “When we saw the floaters we thought maybe that’s just practice. But when it hit the water, it hit hard.”

The young pilot, 23-year old Mike Campbell, shrugged off praise and said he was just doing his job, but officials said it would have been a lot worse had he made even a slightly different decision.

“The pilot did a terrific job, considering he lost his engine power, and landed his ship safely,” FDNY Deputy Chief Thomas McKavanagh said at scene. “He was able to get this helicopter to land upright and with minimal impact.”

The aircraft belongs to New York Helicopter and was towed to the West 79th Street Boat Basin after the crash; it will eventually be moved to the Wall Street Heliport.

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