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Sen. Schumer urges FAA to suspend helicopter company’s flights after NYC crash
New York senator Charles Schumer is calling on the FAA to ground Liberty Helicopters in the wake of a crash which claimed five lives on Sunday.
Sen. Schumer wants the agency to suspend the company’s license pending the ongoing NTSB investigation.
It is the firm’s third major incident in little more than a decade
This includes an August 2009 crash that killed nine people after a chopper collided with a small plane over the Hudson River.
According to the FAA, there have been 16 incidents involving Liberty Helicopters since 1995.
"Three is too many. There are too many allegations. I don’t think Liberty should be flying until we get to the bottom of this," Schumer said.
The company also racked up more than $23,000 in fines in 2010 and 2011 for violating maintenance, and record-keeping rules, the FAA said.
The Eurocopter AS350 crashed into the East River after apparent engine failure killing all five passengers.
The pilot was the only survivor and has reportedly informed investigators of the likely cause.
According to unnamed sources, pilot Richard Vance said a passenger’s bag may have contributed to the accident.
The bag could have accidentally hit the emergency fuel shutoff switch and deactivated the engine, Vance said, although this has not been confirmed by investigators.
The NYPD named the victims as Carla Vallejos Blanco, 29; Daniel Thompson, 34; Tristian Hill, 29; Trevor Cadigan, 26; and Brian McDaniel, 26.
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