Pilot killed in helicopter crash-landing on Manhattan building rooftop

PTI, Jun 11, 2019, 10:15 AM IST

New York: A helicopter crash-landed on the rooftop of a 51-storey building in Midtown Manhattan on Monday amidst rain and poor visibility, killing the pilot, authorities said.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said there was no indication of terrorism and the helicopter seemed to have made an emergency landing.

“Preliminary information is that there was a helicopter that made a forced landing, emergency landing, or landed on the roof of the building for one reason or another,” he was quoted as saying by the CNN.

The New York Fire Department said the helicopter’s pilot was dead. No one who was in the building at the time of the helicopter crash was injured.

“Some people have been evacuated,” the governor added. Some people who were inside at the time “said they felt the building shake,” he added.

A fire broke out when the helicopter hit the roof, but the firefighters have extinguished the blaze at the crash site.

President Trump acknowledged via Twitter that he has been briefed on the helicopter incident in New York. He thanked the city’s medical first responders for their “phenomenal job.” “The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all,” he tweeted.