A helicopter crash-landed on the roof a midtown Manhattan skyscraper Monday, killing the pilot, authorities stated.
The crash occurred at round 2 p.m. in a gradual rain and clouds that obscured the roof of the tower, the AXA Equitable constructing.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who spoke to reporters on the scene about 20 minutes after the crash, stated the impression shook the constructing and prompted a hearth, however it was below management and there have been no different stories of accidents.
The incident, near each Rockefeller Center and Times Square, despatched rescue automobiles swarming to the constructing and instantly evoked reminiscences of the Sept. 11 assaults, although officers stated there have been no indications it was associated to terrorism.
“If you are a New Yorker, you may have a degree of PTSD, proper, from 9/11. And I do not forget that morning all too nicely. So as quickly as you hear an plane hit a constructing, I feel my thoughts goes the place each New Yorker’s thoughts goes,” Cuomo stated.
The FAA stated it might examine. It was not instantly recognized what sort of helicopter was concerned.
Videos posted by onlookers confirmed emergency automobiles in the road, however no apparent injury to the skyscraper, which is about 750 toes (229 meters) tall.
Pedro Rodriguez, a pastry line cook dinner at Le Bernardin, a well known restaurant in the constructing, stated employees bought an announcement telling everybody to exit, and he later heard from individuals round him that there was a hearth on the roof. The evacuation wasn’t chaotic, Rodriguez stated, however he was rattled as a result of he instantly considered the Sept. 11 assaults.