NYC helicopter tour company advertises 70% discount on flights after deadly crash kills family, veteran pilot
A helicopter tour company behind a fatal 2018 New York City crash is slashing prices after another chopper wreck rocked the Big Apple last week – and it’s not the first time the company has offered massive discounts in the wake of an aviation disaster.
FlyNYON is offering up to 70% off the various tours it offers around the city – including trips just like the one offered by another company that killed a pilot and a family of five visiting from Spain when their helicopter “split in half” and plummeted into the Hudson Thursday.
The company has no involvement with last week’s crash – which was operated by New York Helicopter – but FlyNYON’s discounts mirror the 40%-off deals it offered after a chopper of its own went down in the East River seven years ago and killed five passengers who couldn’t escape their harnesses.
And the tours kept flying on Sunday. The Post observed numerous groups excitedly leaving FlyNYON’s New Jersey landing pad, where one thrill-seeker said their trip “was great” – and another said they “couldn’t cancel and get their money back” even with the latest accident fresh on New Yorkers’ minds.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the latest discount “outrageous” during a Big Apple press conference Sunday, and called on operations from FlyNYON and New York Helicopter to be halted until a full Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation is completed.
“Listen to this. [FlyNYON] is offering the same kind of flights that just took the lives of these six people, but now, because of the crash, they’re giving a 70% discount special, outrageous, outrageous,” Schumer said.
In the days since the crash, FlyNYON has continued advertising its tours with posts on social media showing passengers dangling their legs out of open chopper doors on controversial flights the company was previously exposed for exploiting regulatory loopholes to operate.
Stay up to date on the Hudson River helicopter crash:
- Doomed helicopter in Hudson River crash was on eighth flight of day and lacked flight recorder: officials
- New York Helicopter Tours shuts down after Hudson River crash that killed 6: FAA
- Pilot of doomed Hudson River helicopter ID’d as Navy SEAL veteran who had posted chilling video month before death
- Disturbing video shows moment helicopter plummets into Hudson River, killing six
“Looking for something to check off the bucket list? A doors off helicopter flight over NYC,” read the caption on a post from Thursday, before another one was posted Saturday with no mention of the latest deadly crash in between.
“Happy Sunday,” read the company’s Instagram story Sunday, alongside a sunny picture of the Freedom Tower.
New York Helicopter, meanwhile, released a statement saying it was “profoundly saddened by the tragic accident and loss of life,” but that it wouldn’t be responding to any press inquiries until federal investigations are complete.
It remains unclear whether New York Helicopter will continue to operate its own flights.
Schumer focused his wrath Sunday on a “Part 91” license that both New York Helicopter and FLyNYON operate with, which he said allowed the companies to fly without the same strict mechanical and pilot trainings that other types of commercial licenses do.
“Right now New York Helicopter Tours is under investigation, under federal investigation, for these deaths, but first, I am urging the FAA to pull their operating certificate immediately and cease flights until their full investigation is concluded, at the very least, the FAA can take some action in the name of safety, we definitely should,” Schumer said.
The New York senator has previously sought to tighten regulations on commercial helicopter tours.
Just last year, FlyNYON was found primarily responsible for the fatal 2018 crash along with the company that owned that chopper, with jurors awarding $116 million in damages to the family of one victim, the New York Times reported.
A top executive of the global technology company Siemens and his family were identified as five of the victims who were killed in Thursday’s New York Helicopter crash. The sixth victim was the pilot, 36-year-old Navy veteran Sean Johnson.
Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children — who authorities identified Friday as Augustin, 10; Mercedes, 8; and Victor, 4 — had just arrived in the Big Apple from Barcelona earlier in the day, according to law enforcement sources.
Chilling footage captured the moment the helicopter spiraled out of the sky before plummeting into the Hudson. Other clips showed the rotors splashing down into various parts of the water.
Flight Tracker data showed the aircraft, carrying five passengers and a pilot, was in the air for roughly 15 minutes before going down.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the probe into Thursday’s incident, the latest in a series of deadly aircraft emergencies in the past few months.
The Post reached out to New York Helicopter and FlyNYON for comment.
