One Dead In New York Helicopter Crash, Victim Identified As Pilot

A helicopter crash landed on the roof of a midtown Manhattan building Monday killing the pilot.

The deceased victim, identified as pilot Tim McCormack, crashed the Agusta A109E helicopter he was flying on top of the 787 Seventh Ave. building, located north of Times Square.

According to NBC News, law enforcement confirmed that McCormack had dropped off a passenger at a nearby helipad before taking off and eventually smashing onto the roof of the building where it also caught fire.

While police have yet to confirm the reason for the crash, it is believed to be linked to the rainy, foggy weather. Interviews made by the New York Police Department also revealed that the pilot was waiting out the weather on the 34th Street heliport but eventually decided to fly. He crashed 11 minutes after, at 1:43 pm. The building had no helipad.

Thousands of workers at the building were immediately evacuated, while fire fighters took the elevator up 54 floors to extinguish the fire. There were no other reported injuries.

“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,” Thomas Richardson, chief of fire operations, explained.

“We have standard operating procedures to do that. We have fire engines that connect to the standpipe system … [we also] use the manual fire pumps that are in the building … to increase the pressure.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters that there is “no ongoing threat to New York City,” and that the crash shows “no indication that there was any terror nexus here.”

American Continental Properties, the company that owns the helicopter that crashed, said McCormack has been flying with them for the past five years.

“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 company said in a statement.

President Donald Trump also commended the work of first responders, tweeting “THANK YOU for all you do 24/7/365! The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all.”