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NTSB to investigate deadly helicopter crash landing on Manhattan skyscraper

Posted at 1:41 PM, Jun 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-11 13:41:08-04

NEW YORK CITY - After a helicopter crash landed Monday on a midtown skyscraper 54 stories up, killing the pilot, the National Transportation Safety Board will today sift through the wreckage, removing what's left of the executive chopper to determine what caused the crash.

NTSB is also asking for the public's help, putting a call out on Twitter for any witnesses of Monday's crash to share videos or photos they might have with NTSB investigators.

It was midday when pilot Timothy McCormack was flying solo through half-mile visibility in poor weather conditions, an eyewitness taking note of the chopper's erratic maneuvering.

After the midair emergency, 11 minutes after taking off from the East 34th Street heliport, McCormack might have landed the helicopter on top of the skyscraper to mitigate casualties on the ground.

The crash, described as a hard landing by police, of the privately owned copter happened at 1:43 p.m. at 787 Seventh Ave., known as the AXA Equitable Building, according to NYPD and FDNY.

McCormack, who was the only person on board and only person killed or injured, was also a volunteer firefighter in Clinton Corners, New York. He was chief of the East Clinton Volunteer Fire Department.

“We are mourning the loss of Tim McCormack, who has flown for us for the past five years," a representative for American Continental, who owned the helicopter, told WPIX. "Our hearts are with his family and friends.”