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Helicopter ride-share taxi crashes in New York

No passengers were on board the helicopter when it crashed into the Hudson River on its way to refuel, ride-share company Blade has said.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
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Corinne Reichert
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Helicopter Crashes In Hudson River On West Side Of Manhattan

The helicopter is pulled out of the Hudson River

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

One of a fleet of helicopters being used as part of Blade's ride-sharing service was been forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River in New York on Wednesday

Blade called the landing "safe," with the helicopter coming down on floats near the heliport. 

"There were no passengers on board. The pilot was not injured and immediately exited the aircraft," Blade said.

At the time, the helicopter taxi was being moved to the West Side Heliport to be refueled by Zip Aviation.

As there were no injuries, the incident won't be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, Blade said.

All Blade services, which allow people to book by the seat, or charter or crowdsource a flight, are operating normally.

Both the New York City Fire Department and the NYPD had flagged the crash earlier on Wednesday.

"FDNY members remain on scene of a helicopter crash in the Hudson River," a fire department tweet said. "The helicopter is tied to the pier at this time. The pilot is on land, and was the only person on board."

However, it added that there were "two non-life-threatening injuries" involved: "The pilot and one heliport worker injured by debris."

"Firefighter Chris Morgan and I entered the helicopter in the water to make sure there were no additional passengers," FDNY firefighter Tim O'Neill said. "The pilot was exiting the helicopter and getting onto a civilian boat. 

"The rear part of the cabin had already begun to fill up with water. We verified that the emergency fuel was shut off, and secured the helicopter using ropes to the bulkhead and an FDNY Marine unit."

Correction, May 16 at 9:31 a.m. PT: Headline originally read Blade helicopter, but aircraft was not owned by Blade.