Helicopter crash part found in Hudson River could be key to determining cause
More wreckage from the fatal Hudson River helicopter crash has been recovered, including what could be the key to figuring out the cause.
Divers on Monday discovered what appeared to be the rotor of the helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, that plunged into the river last week.
More helicopter crash wreckage found in Hudson River
Investigators are hoping the part will provide some kind of clue as to why the chopper plummeted into the Hudson River after the rotor broke off in midair. Eyewitness video showed pieces of the sightseeing helicopter falling into the water.
Investigators had already recovered the main fuselage, including the cockpit and cabin, as well as the forward portion of the tail boom, and the horizontal and vertical stabilizer.
Retired U.S. Navy Captain and aerospace engineer Armand Kurdian says recovering the rotor is critical to determining the cause of the crash.
"What was probably the precipitating factor of when it first came off, because as you see, the tail rotor comes off and the main rotor comes off. A lot of folks are saying that could be an issue with the transmission. The question is did the transmission precipitate all the failures or did something else fail, which basically caused the transmission to fail in turn?" he said.
In addition to examining the wreckage, investigators will go through the helicopter's maintenance records to determine why it crashed. The investigation could take weeks or months.
The crash killed Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three children, who were visiting New York City from Spain. The pilot, Sean Johnson, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran, also died.
Over the weekend, New York Helicopter Tours announced it ceased all operations. Late Monday night, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order grounding the company after learning it fired its director minutes after he agreed to suspend flights during the investigation.
"The FAA is taking this action in part because after the company's director of operations voluntarily shut down flights, he was fired," acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau wrote on social media.
The FAA said it suspected the firing was in retaliation for the decision.
