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Riverside Park's Unexpected Helicopter Landing
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 29, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 29, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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A helicopter operated by Liberty helicopters, a tour company, was forced to make a precautionary landing in Riverside Park yesterday morning at 10AM. No one was on the ground when the chopper touched down at a baseball field near West 79th Street, and no one on the helicopter was injured.
The culprit turned out to be smoke from a broken light bulb, according to the Daily News and Newsday, but the NY Times describes it as "engine trouble." When the chopper lifted off around 11AM, it was followed by a police helicopter.
Liberty Helicopters is the same company whose helicopter crashed into the Hudson River earlier this month. When Newsday called Liberty for a comment, a man said, "I have no idea what you're talking about" and hung up.
This comes a day after the horrific crash of two Phoenix news choppers that were following a police chase. WNBC's Chopper 4 reporter Dan Rice wrote about the crash; he says, "Yes, there is no bigger thrill in this job than beating the other choppers to a story. I take pride in trying to be the first AND in being accurate. However, when we are not flying, all of us hang out together and enjoy each other’s company."
Tagged
baseball
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daily news
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hudson river
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News: NYC
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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