FAA: FAA orders crashed-chopper firm to shutter, launches safety review

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the operator of the helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River last week, killing all six people aboard, to cease operations as new scrutiny is placed on the company's track record.Federal aviation officials announced late Sunday that Midtown-based New York Helicopter Tours is shuttering its operations as the agency launches a full review of the company's license and safety record. The FAA declined to elaborate to Crain's precisely why the agency ordered the shutdown or if the measure is permanent or temporary. The agency's decision came hours after U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer urged federal officials to revoke the company's operating license.In the days since Thursday's crash, a broader picture of New York Helicopter Tours' safety record and finances have emerged. Federal aviation officials have investigated two previous incidents that involved a helicopter operated by New York Helicopter Tours.In 2013 a pilot operating one of the company's helicopters, carrying four passengers at the time, was forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River after the aircraft suddenly lost power midair. Investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board partially attributed the power failure to an "improper maintenance decision" regarding oil pressure, according to the agency's findings.During a separate incident in 2015, a pilot flying one of the company's helicopters lifted off from a base in New Jersey when they began to lose control of the aircraft and were forced to make a hard landing. FAA inspectors said at the time that some components of the helicopter may have been misshapen and "considered unairworthy."Michael Roth, the company's CEO, did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.Even before the Covid-19 pandemic decimated the city's tourism industry, New York Helicopter Tours was struggling. Court records show that the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 and had one of its helicopters repossessed last year.In court filings, Roth said the company ran into financial trouble after the city reduced helicopter tour traffic in 2017. The change, said Roth, led the company to slash its staff from 30 to 13 employees, and the company saw its revenue fall from $4.5 million in 2017 to $3.9 million in 2018, according to records in the bankruptcy case.In 2019 the company said it had $6 million in assets and $1.6 million in liabilities, including debt for landing fees and repair bills. The business managed to emerge from bankruptcy protection in 2022.Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday that the helicopter that crashed last week did not have a flight recording device, commonly known as a black box, which will make it harder for officials to determine the precise cause of the crash. Federal regulations did not require the chopper to have a flight recorder.NYPD divers are still searching the Hudson River for key components of the crashed chopper, including its main rotor and tail section. During a Sunday news conference, Schumer said: "We know there is one thing for sure about New York City's helicopter tour companies: They have a deadly track record. And it is usually the companies, not the pilots, that are openly manipulating [FAA] rules, cutting corners and could well be putting profits over people."Dozens of helicopter tour and charter flight crashes in New York City have killed at least 38 people since 1977.