NEW YORK — A helicopter crashed into the Hudson River near a busy Manhattan heliport Wednesday and partially sank, but not before the pilot was able to escape.
New York City Fire Department officials said the pilot was not seriously injured after the helicopter landed in the river at around West 30th Street. No other people were aboard.
A mobile phone video of the helicopter going down, taken by a WCBS TV editor, showed it descending into the river just feet from the helipad.
Video footage from hovering TV news helicopters taken in the aftermath of the crash showed the helicopter capsized and mostly beneath the water, but kept from totally sinking by inflatable pontoons that deployed as the aircraft was about to hit the water.
It was tethered to rescue boats and the helipad pier.
Traffic was moving at a crawl on a busy road that passes by the scene.
A person who answered the phone at a lounge at the helipad said the pilot made an "emergency landing" and was the only one on board.
A video of the helicopter going into the down showed it descending into the river very close to the shoreline near a busy helipad.
