NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- US lawmakers from New York City are backing a bill to hold sightseeing helicopters to commercial airline safety standards, one year after a crash that killed a Siemens AG executive and his family.
Standing near the crash site over the Hudson River with relatives of the victims, Representatives Jerrold Nadler, Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat presented the Helicopter Safety Parity Act on Thursday.
“As we prepare for the World Cup, more people will come to the city of New York and want to get on these helicopters,” Espaillat said. “We must have safety regulations that are critical and important to all New Yorkers and our visitors.”
The congressmen were joined by local lawmakers and 11 family members of Agustin Escobar Canadas, the chief executive of rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, who died in the crash along with his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children.
“It’s really hard to be back here today standing on the banks of the Hudson River,” Joan Camprubi Montal, one family member, said. “We want to avoid more people to suffer what we suffer. And aviation safety for us should be not a choice. It should be a responsibility.”
The family was on a sightseeing excursion when the Bell 206 L-4 chopper fell apart as it plunged into the river about a year ago, killing all six people aboard.
The new bill would require the use of specific safety equipment and have airline-equivalent maintenance standards, while ensuring strict enforcement and regulatory oversight, Nadler said. He is seeking passage for the legislation by the end of the year. In 2025, Nadler co-sponsored another bill to ban non-essential helicopters, which has yet to advance.
Several helicopter crashes have occurred around New York City, including a 2018 sightseeing flight that killed five people and drew attention to safety flaws in seat restraint systems.
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