NTSB CAROL · Event
Event NYC90FA067
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S MISJUDGEMENT OF THE WIND RESULTING IN A DOWNWIND TAKEOFF. ADDITIONALLY THE LOSS OF LIFT WHEN THE HELICOPTER FLEW OFF THE HELIPORT PLATFORM, PRIOR TO REACHING EFFECTIVE TRANSLATIONAL LIFT, RESULTED IN THE HELICOPTER SETTLING INTO THE WATER.
Factual narrative
THE HELICOPTER LIFTED OFF THE HELIPAD AND MADE A LEFT PEDAL TURN. THE PILOT SAID HE CHECKED THE WIND AND THOUGHT THE WIND WAS FROM THE SOUTHWEST, MEANING HE COULD BE TAKING OFF IN A CROSSWIND, WHEN IT FACT HE TOOK OFF IN A TAIL WIND CONDITION. AS THE HELICOPTER REACHED THE END OF THE HELIPORT PLATFORM AND WAS FLYING SLOW OVER WATER THE HELICOPTER SETTLED IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE. THE PILOT COULD NOT STOP THE DESCENT AND THE HELICOPTER WENT INTO THE RIVER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_NYC90FA067.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.