Helicopter Trade Group Had Fought Open-Door Tours for Years

  • Flights like one that killed five in New York seen as unsafe
  • Group had refused to certify operators with those flights

A helicopter is pulled from the East River on March 12, 2018 in New York City. Five people died after the helicopter made an emergency landing and flipped upside down on March 11, trapping the passengers inside.

Photographer: James Devaney/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

The leading trade group for helicopter operators has, for at least two years, urged a halt to open-door tours such as the one that ended in the death of five people in the East River off Manhattan on March 11.

The Helicopter Association International, which also represents pilots and others in the industry, has been warning against the growing practice of allowing people to photograph from copters without doors, and has refused to certify those operations, Dan Sweet, the group’s spokesman, said in an interview.