A helicopter that crashed on the roof of a high-rise building in midtown Manhattan, killing the pilot, may have been flying to a Union County airport when it went down Monday. “We think [the helicopter] was going back to its home airport in Linden, New Jersey, but we are not sure,” NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said at a news conference.
Linden Airport Director Paul Dudley identified the pilot as Tim McCormack, of Clinton Corners, New York.
“He is highly regarded at [Linden Airport],” Dudley told NJ Advance Media. “He has tremendous local knowledge.”
“I believe [the pilot] did his best to get that helicopter on that rooftop to spare the people on the ground,” Dudley said.
The helicopter took off from a helipad on 34th Street in Manhattan bound for Linden around 1:30 p.m. and apparently went off course, according to preliminary reports from officials. The Agusta A109E helicopter crashed into the 750-foot-tall AXA Equitable building, on 7th Avenue near 51st Street, around 1:45 p.m. The crash sparked a fire that sent smoke billowing from the roof.