iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Two people were killed when a private helicopter crashed into the East River Sunday evening, authorities said.

The red Eurocopter AS350 helicopter was carrying six passengers when it went down, police sources said. One of the passengers was seriously injured after being pulled from the water, sources said.

A bystander captured the helicopter’s descent into the water on video. The footage shows the final seconds as the chopper’s propellers strike the glassy river’s surface, its engine sputtering.

The helicopter hit the cold water at East 96th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood about 7 p.m., local and federal authorities later confirmed.

The pilot who was experiencing engine failure, sources said.

The Federal Aviation Administration tweeted that it was investigating the crash and added that the helicopter is “reportedly inverted in the water.” It added that the National Transportation Safety Board would lead the investigation.

New York City’s NYPD and FDNY confirmed that there were sending emergency personnel into the area near East 90th Street in Manhattan. </s> Police say two people are dead after a private helicopter crashed into the East River on Sunday night.The helicopter reportedly crashed near 89th Street in Manhattan around 7 p.m. It is unclear where the helicopter was coming from or if there were any distress calls.One person has also been removed from the water in serious condition. Police sources tell ABC News that there were at least six people on board the helicopter at the time of the crash."We were having dinner and we noticed a red helicopter going full speed towards the water. It almost looked very surreal and next thing we know it's approaching the water slowly and then it just completely crashed and then sunk. Immediate reaction was to call 911," said eyewitness Arineh Nazarian.The strong currents in the East River are making recovery efforts difficult.The NTSB says they will be investigating.NYC Ferry service on the Astoria and East River route is currently suspended until further notice.---------- </s> NEW YORK CITY -- A helicopter crashed into New York City's East River around sundown Sunday and flipped on its side, killing at least two people.

A spokesman for the mayor's office, Eric Phillips, confirmed the fatalities on Twitter. At least one person was rescued from the water, he said.

Coast Guard officials said there were six people on board. Five were recovered by police and fire department divers. The pilot was able to free himself. Three were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The helicopter was a private charter for a photo shoot.

Video taken by a bystander and posted on Twitter shows a red helicopter land hard in the water and then tip over as its rotors slap at the water.

The helicopter, a model used by tourist companies, went down near Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence. A small armada of rescue boats searched for survivors.

Witnesses told local media that the helicopter appeared to fill with water quickly.

"Its' cold water. It was sinking really fast," Mary Lee, 66, told the New York Post. "By the time we got out here, we couldn't see it. It was under water."

Witnesses described seeing at least one person emerge from the helicopter and wave his or her hands for help.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said the Eurocopter AS350 went down just after 7 p.m.

The skies over New York constantly buzz with helicopters carrying tourists, businesspeople, traffic reporters, medical teams and others. Crashes are not uncommon.

A crash in October 2011 in the East River killed a British woman visiting the city for her 40th birthday. Three other passengers were injured.

A helicopter on a sightseeing tour of Manhattan crashed into the Hudson River in July 2007, shaking up the eight people aboard but injuring no one. In June 2005, two helicopters crashed into the East River in the same week. One injured eight people including some banking executives. The other hit the water shortly after takeoff on a sightseeing flight, injuring six tourists and the pilot. </s> All five passengers have been killed after a helicopter crashed into the East River off Manhattan.

There were six people on the Eurocopter AS350, which was registered to Liberty Helicopters and was being used for a private charter photo shoot.

It went down near Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence near the northern end of Roosevelt Island, at about 7.00pm local time.

The sixth person - the pilot - freed himself and was rescued by a passing tugboat, according to police. He was taken to hospital but is in a good condition.

Witnesses had described seeing one person emerge from the helicopter and wave their hands for help.

Daniel Nigro, Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, said the helicopter had been upside down and "completely submerged" in 50 feet of extremely cold water.

The passengers had been tightly harnessed and the harnesses had to be cut to free them, he said.

"The divers worked very quickly, as fast as they could. Everyone worked very hard."

Xinran Jiang, who lives on Roosevelt Island with her husband, said they saw a red helicopter rapidly descending near the north end of the island at about 7.08pm.

She told the New York Times that the helicopter showed no obvious signs of trouble before going into the river.

"It almost looked like it was landing. It wasn't moving fast."

"Then the next minute, it was diving into the river," Ms Jiang said.

Brianna Jesme (22), an Upper East Side resident who witnessed the crash, told Reuters TV: "It kind of hit sideways and just flipped over."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said: "Our thoughts and hope for safe recovery are with those who were aboard.

"We are thankful for our first responders at the scene."

The helicopter has been recovered and towed to a nearby pier.

It is not the first helicopter crash in the area - In October 2011, a crash in the East River killed a tourist and injured three others.

In 2009, a sightseeing tour collided with a small private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine people.

Another helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in July 2007 with no casualties, and two helicopters crashed into the East River during the same week in June 2005, with more than a dozen people injured. </s> At least 32 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977, when an accident on a skyscraper landing pad led the city to start putting restrictions on where choppers could land.

Helicopter flights are getting renewed scrutiny after a fatal crash into a Manhattan tower Monday.

A look at accidents over the years:

2019: A helicopter used for executive travel hits the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper in restricted airspace. The pilot is killed.

2019: A charter helicopter goes into the Hudson River and sinks while being maneuvered at a heliport. The pilot escapes.

2018: Five people drown when a charter helicopter offering "open door" flights crashes in the East River . The pilot survives.

2011: Three people die when a helicopter carrying a family outing plunges into the East River.

2009: A sightseeing helicopter carrying Italian tourists collides with a private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine.

2007: A sightseeing helicopter drops into the Hudson River after experiencing a mechanical problem after lifting off from a West Side heliport. Everyone makes it out safely.

2005: A corporate helicopter carrying MBNA Corp. executives falls into the East river after taking off from the East 34th Street heliport. The pilot is seriously injured but everyone survives.

2005: A sightseeing helicopter goes into the East River while trying to take off from the Wall Street heliport. A British tourist nearly drowns.

2004: A WNBC news helicopter hits a building in Brooklyn and disintegrates while covering a story. All occupants survive.

1997: One person is killed and a second is badly injured when a helicopter owned by the Colgate-Palmolive Company falls into the East River after taking off from the 60th Street heliport.

1990: One person dies after the pilot of an Island Helicopter air taxi misjudges the wind during a takeoff from the East 34th Street heliport and flies into the river.

1988: A passenger drowns when a sightseeing helicopter loses power and makes a forced landing in the East River.

1986: An NBC radio traffic reporter dies when the helicopter she is riding in loses lift, hits a fence and crashes into the Hudson.

1985: A passenger drowns when a sightseeing flight operated by New York Helicopters crashes into the East River after taking off from the East 34th Street heliport.

1983: A seaplane coming in for a landing on the East River collides with a police helicopter over the Brooklyn waterfront, killing four people.

1981: Hijackers seize a sightseeing helicopter and order the pilot to fly to a federal jail in Manhattan in an unsuccessful attempt to free a prisoner waiting on the roof.

1977: A rotor breaks loose from a New York Airways helicopter on a landing pad atop the Pan Am Building and kills five people, including one on the street two blocks away. The helipad closes after the accident. </s> HELICOPTER CRASH VIDEO

East River, Manhattan, NY

Reports of 5 people on board. 

Video captured by @JJmagerspic.twitter.com/hkvmIm7VMH </s> A helicopter has crashed into the Hudson River in New York City, the fire department confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the FDNY confirmed the crash and said the pilot, the only person on board, was safely removed from the water with no injuries. The department's verified Twitter account said there were two other non-life-threatening injuries.

New York Waterway, a company that operates ferries between Manhattan and New Jersey, said in a press release that one of its boats had rescued the pilot of the helicopter at about 1:20pm. The company also assisted with rescue efforts when a U.S. Airways plane famously landed in the Hudson River in 2009.

Local news channels showed a large police and fire response to the crash, as onlookers flooded the riverside park to get a better look at the incident. The West Side Highway was partially closed to southbound traffic following the crash as first responders towed the aircraft to the shore.

Video from local news helicopters showed police and fire boats towing the helicopter to shore. ABC7

Multiple people on Twitter said they saw a helicopter plunge into the water around 2:20 pm local time, near a pier where Blade and other helicopters operate on Manhattan's West side at 30th street and 12th avenue.

It was not immediately clear which company owns or was operating the helicopter at the time of the incident.

In March 2018, a private helicopter crashed into the East River in New York, killing five people on board.

This story is developing, check back for updates... </s> NEW YORK — The National Transportation Safety Board has released the preliminary report on the crash of a helicopter earlier in the month.

Five people died after the helicopter they were passengers on went down March 11 in New York’s East River.

Three of the passengers had been taken to hospital with critical injuries after surviving the crash. Two others were killed in the crash.

A sixth person, the pilot, was able to free himself and was rescued.

Officials said, “The preliminary report summarizes the preflight activities, passenger briefing and the sequence of events leading up to the accident as described by the pilot during a post-accident interview.”

The preliminary report is available online here. </s> Yellow buoys that a New York police officer said are suspending a helicopter that crashed on the East River float next to a NYPD police boat at a pier in New York on Sunday, March 11, 2018. The helicopter crashed into New York City’s East River Sunday night and flipped upside down in the water, killing at least a few people aboard and leaving some others in critical condition, officials said. (Andres Kudacki/AP)

A privately chartered helicopter doing a photo shoot crashed into New York City’s East River on Sunday night and flipped upside down in the water, killing all five passengers aboard, officials said.

A spokesman for the NYPD confirmed the deaths to The Associated Press early Monday.

Video taken by a bystander and posted on Twitter shows the red helicopter land hard in the water and then capsize, its rotors slapping at the water.

The helicopter went down near Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence. One person, the pilot, freed himself and was rescued by a tugboat, officials said.

The passengers were recovered by police and fire department divers, who had to remove them from tight harnesses while they were upside down, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.

“It took awhile for the drivers to get these people out. They worked very quickly as fast as they could,” Nigro said. “It was a great tragedy that we had here.”

Witnesses on a waterfront esplanade near where the aircraft went down said the helicopter was flying noisily, then suddenly dropped into the water and quickly submerged. But the pilot appeared on the surface, holding onto a flotation device as a tugboat and then police boats approached.

“It’s cold water. It was sinking really fast,” Mary Lee, 66, told the New York Post. “By the time we got out here, we couldn’t see it. It was underwater.”

Celia Skyvaril, 23, told the Daily News that she could see a person on what looked like a yellow raft or float screaming and yelling for help.

News footage showed one victim being loaded into an ambulance while emergency workers gave him chest compressions.

A bystander, Susan Larkin, told The Associated Press that she went down to see rescue boats in the river and a police helicopter circling overhead, hovering low over the water.

“You could clearly see they were searching,” she said.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said the Eurocopter AS350 went down just after 7 p.m. The aircraft was owned by Liberty Helicopters, a company that offers both private charters and sightseeing tours popular with tourists. A phone message left with the company was not immediately returned.

The skies over New York constantly buzz with helicopters carrying tourists, businesspeople, traffic reporters, medical teams and others. Crashes are not unheard of.

In 2009, a sightseeing helicopter of the same model and operated by the same company as the one in Sunday’s wreck collided with a small, private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine people, including a group of Italian tourists.

A crash in October 2011 in the East River killed a British woman visiting the city for her 40th birthday. Two other passengers died weeks later as a result of their injuries.

A helicopter on a sightseeing tour of Manhattan crashed into the Hudson River in July 2007, shaking up the eight people aboard but injuring no one. In June 2005, two helicopters crashed into the East River in the same week. One injured eight people including some banking executives. The other hit the water shortly after takeoff on a sightseeing flight, injuring six tourists and the pilot.

Nigro and Police Commissioner James O’Neill said the rescue operation Sunday took place in a 4 mph current in water about 50 feet (15 metres) deep, under challenging conditions.

The cause of the crash is unknown. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Officials did not immediately release the names of the pilot or passengers or say how the passengers died.

The helicopter was recovered in the rescue operation and towed to a pier.

This story has been corrected to show that three people died from the 2011 crash, including two who died in the weeks after the crash.
A helicopter crash in Manhattan's East River kills five people.