Live Updates
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:
“We are mourning the loss of Tim McCormack who has flown for us for the past five years. Our hearts are with his family and friends.”
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.
“Right now, the FBI are working with the FAA and the NTSB to gather additional info on the pilot, we believe we’ve tentatively identified the aircraft, the flight path, and its owner,” O’Neill said.
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.
“But something like this should have been authorized. We don’t have any indication it was, but we’re still investigating to confirm that,” he said.
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.
“And I want to just say, thank God for that,” he said. “This could have been a much worse incident. And thank God no other people were injured in this absolutely shocking, stunning incident.”
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:
“The AW109 Power is a single-pilot IFR certified helicopter with a maximum cruise speed of 154 knots (285 km/h). The aircraft’s engines are controlled by a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system. A digital glass cockpit with six liquid crystal instrument displays provides the aircrew with flight, systems and mission data.”
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.
A BNP Paribas spokesperson said staff is safe after being evacuated from the building because of the helicopter crash.
The spokesperson went on to say no one was injured.
“Staff at BNP Paribas are safe. Our business continuity plans are in process,” the spokesperson said.
BNP Paribas is a tenant of the building.
The pilot was the only person aboard the helicopter based on preliminary information, according to Kathleen Bergen, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Agusta A109E helicopter crashed about 1:45 p.m. ET on the roof of 787 7th Ave., Bergen said.
“FAA air traffic controllers did not handle the flight,” she said.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash and determine its cause, Bergen said.
President Trump just tweeted that he has been briefed about the helicopter crash in New York City. He thanked the city’s first responders for their “phenomenal job.”
“The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all,” he tweeted.
Read more:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New Yorkers “have a level of PTSD” following the 2001 terror attack on the World Trade Center.
His mind “goes where every New Yorker’s mind goes” when he hears news of a plane or helicopter hitting a building, he said.
Here’s how he put it:
The New York Fire Department just tweeted that firefighters have extinguished a blaze at the crash site.
The FDNY went on to say that firefighters will remain on scene of the crash.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that no one who was in the building at the time of the helicopter crash was injured.
“Some people have been evacuated,” he added. Some people who were inside at the time “said they felt the building shake,” he said.
At least one person was killed in the crash. The New York Fire Department said the helicopter’s pilot was dead, but it’s unclear if that’s the same person CNN previously reported to have died.
The helicopter pilot involved in the midtown Manhattan crash is dead, FDNY spokesperson Myles Miller told CNN.
It is unclear if the pilot is the same person CNN previously reported to have died.
Lance Koonce took this video of smoke billowing from a high-rise building after the helicopter crash.
“We’re 1 block south. 20 mins ago there was a loud sound like a too-low #helicopter & I looked up and saw sheet of flame on roof and then smoke. News reports saying helicopter/small plane crash onto roof which would be consistent with what I heard/saw,” Koonce tweeted.
Watch the moment:
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has received a preliminary briefing, his press secretary Freddi Goldstein confirms to CNN.
The mayor is now on his way to the scene.
President Trump has been briefed on the helicopter incident in New York, the White House said.
“The President has been briefed on the helicopter crash in Manhattan and continues to monitor the situation,” spokesperson Hogan Gidley said.
Kathleen Bergen, spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, said they are gathering information on today’s crash landing in Manhattan.
According to FDNY, 100 fire and EMS units have responded to the crash. There are 25 fire department units on scene.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the helicopter made a “forced landing, emergency landing or landed on the roof.”
He added that the information is “very preliminary.”
“People who were in the building said they felt the building shake,” he added.
A fire broke out when the helicopter hit the roof, but the fire department has it under control, he said.
The New York Fire Department and New York Police Department said a helicopter crashed on the roof of 787 7th Ave., a building in midtown Manhattan.
The address is just north of Times Square and just south of Central Park.
Here’s a look at the site on a map:
At least one person has been killed in a helicopter accident in midtown Manhattan, according to law enforcement officials.
The NYPD tweeted that the helicopter made a “hard landing” on the roof of 787 7th Ave.
The helicopter appeared to make a crash landing on the roof on 787 7th Ave., according to FDNY spokesperson Jim Long.
FDNY is making its way to the top of the building. The building is being evacuated.
An earlier FDNY tweet indicated the helicopter crashed into the building.
The NYPD confirmed the helicopter made a “hard landing.”
New York City buildings are evacuating following the helicopter crash.
“Scene at 52nd between 6th and 7th after plane/helicopter crash in NYC. Building was evacuated,” Twitter user @SirVontezII wrote.
Here’s what the evacuation looks like:
At the time of the reported helicopter crash in New York City, moderate to heavy rain was falling in the city.
Visibility at Central Park was down to only 1.25 miles. Winds were from the east at 9 mph.
The New York Police Department just asked the public to avoid the area of West 51st and 7th Ave due to the investigation.
Read the tweet:
A helicopter has crashed on top of a building located at 787 7th Ave. in Manhattan, the New York City Fire Department tweeted.
The call came into the FDNY at at 1:43 p.m. ET, FDNY spokesman Myles Miller told CNN.
No further details immediately available from the FDNY.
