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Read the press release here.

Helicopter Was Inspected Two Days Before Deadly East River Crash

By Mary Johnson | October 12, 2011 1:17pm
The helicopter involved in the crash has been moved to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
The helicopter involved in the crash has been moved to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
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NTSB

KIPS BAY — The helicopter that crashed into the East River last week, killing one woman and critically injuring two other passengers, underwent an annual inspection just two days before the fatal accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board revealed the recent inspection in a preliminary report released on Wednesday, but did not detail its findings.

The Oct. 4 incident occurred near the heliport on the East River near East 34th Street. Pilot Paul Dudley, 56, loaded four passengers onto the aircraft, including Sonia Marra, who was visiting New York to celebrate her 40th birthday, her partner, Helen Tamaki, 43, and her parents, Paul and Harriet Nicholson.

The flight — which Dudley said was a sightseeing tour of New York — was private and no flight plan was filed, according to the report. A flight plan does not have to be filed for a private flight.

But almost immediately after takeoff, he reported a problem. He managed to lift the chopper, a Bell 206B built in 1976, roughly 30 to 50 feet in the air before he experienced what investigators call a “small left yaw,” or a horizontal rotation of the nose of the aircraft to one side.

Dudley, who has logged 1,500 hours of flight experience in helicopters, tried to turn right and return to the heliport. He didn’t make it, and the chopper plunged into the East River.

Dudley and Paul Nicholson, 72, came out relatively unharmed. Harriet Nicholson, 60, and Tamaki suffered serious injuries and were transported to Bellevue Hospital.

Marra was unable to escape the helicopter before it sank. Her body was removed from the submerged aircraft about an hour after the crash.

Investigators have all but ruled out engine failure as the cause of the crash, based upon information gleaned from an examination of the engine itself. Sources have suggested that weight may have played a role, but the NTSB has yet to confirm what caused the helicopter to go down.

In a statement last week, the Nicholson family thanked the first responders and hospital staff in New York for their help, both during the recovery and the aftermath.

“We have felt protected and cared for in a way we will never forget,” the family said.