New York Helicopter, a company with decades of experience flying around New York City landmarks, faced significant challenges even before a recent tragic incident where one of its sightseeing helicopters crashed into the Hudson River, resulting in the death of all six occupants.
In 2013, the company encountered a serious incident when another one of their helicopters experienced a sudden power loss mid-flight. Fortunately, the pilot managed to land safely on pontoons in the Hudson River. Over the last eight years, New York Helicopter has navigated through a bankruptcy and is currently dealing with ongoing lawsuits related to alleged debts.
In January, the company was sued for over $1.4 million for ceasing payments on a helicopter lease. Following this, a cash-advance lender filed a lawsuit in February, claiming that the company had obstructed repayments on a recent loan, leading to a debt of over $83,000. New York Helicopter has yet to respond to these cases.
Efforts to reach the company’s offices on Friday were unsuccessful, and attempts to obtain a comment from the owner, Michael Roth, who expressed shock and devastation over the crash to the New York Post, were unproductive.
Founded in the 1990s, New York Helicopter, also known by various names such as New York Helicopter Charter Inc. and New York Helicopter Tours LLC, provides aerial views of iconic New York City landmarks, shuttle services to airports, and charter flights. The busy airspace around Manhattan has witnessed several deadly incidents, with over three dozen fatalities reported in the last fifty years from tour and helicopter crashes, including a recent $90 million settlement over a wrongful-death lawsuit involving another company.
New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams highlighted the importance of such flights during TV interviews, without expressing specific concerns about New York Helicopter, while emphasizing the ongoing investigations into the recent accident.
Despite claiming an “industry-leading safety record,” New York Helicopter has experienced incidents such as the 2013 power failure, attributed by the National Transportation Safety Board to an inappropriate maintenance decision concerning an oil pressure problem. In 2015, another helicopter entered into a spin near a helipad but landed safely with only the pilot on board. The NTSB suggested that an unidentified person had painted over a faulty part on the recently leased helicopter.
The company faced financial difficulties after New York City reduced tour helicopter flights by half in 2017. This led to a decrease in revenue and a reduction in its workforce. By 2019, amidst bankruptcy, New York Helicopter listed significant liabilities and continued to encounter financial challenges after emerging from bankruptcy in 2022.
In June of the previous year, the company filed a lawsuit over the “unconscionable” terms of a 2018 loan but subsequently withdrew the case this month. The court documents do not clarify if there was any financial settlement.
Messages seeking comments have been sent to attorneys representing the company.
This article was initially published on Fortune.com.
