On March 11, tragedy struck, when a sightseeing and photographic tours helicopter crashed in New York's East River, killing all five passengers, with only the pilot escaping. In light of the event, the FAA has announced that it will order all "doors-off" flights not using quick-release restraints suspended until better restraint systems are developed.
The crash was particularly tragic as all six people aboard the helicopter survived the impact, but as the New York Medical Examiner determined, the five passengers died of drowning after the helicopter turned over in the water and they could not release their restraints. As such, the FAA released the following statement in a series of tweets today (edited to remove hashtag symbols):
Helicopter operators, pilots, and consumers should be aware of the hazard from supplemental restraint devices during an emergency evacuation during “doors off” flights. The FAA will order operators and pilots to take immediate action to control/mitigate this risk. Until then, the FAA will order no more “doors off” operations that involve restraints that cannot be released quickly in an emergency. Additionally, the FAA will conduct a top to bottom review of its rules governing these flights to examine any potential misapplication that could create safety gaps for passengers.
I sincerely hope that the NTSB's and FAA's work to understand the accident and develop safer restraints will prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.
Image of helicopter by Anna Zvereva, used under Creative Commons.
Regulations are written in blood.