NTSB: investigators review circumstances of tragic helicopter crash on Hudson River

In the coming weeks and even months, investigators will dig into the helicopter company that was at the center of Thursday's deadly Hudson River “Bell 206” helicopter crash, aviation authorities inform. 

The pilot, whose name was Sean Johnson, had a total flight time of 788 hours, but it is unclear how many hours he spent on the Bell helicopters.

New York journalists  found that the company has a fairly solid safety record, with just two National Transportation Safety Board reports in more than three decades of operation. 

The two previous safety incidents were caused by mechanical problems. 

The most recent incident occurred in 2015, when a helicopter made a hard landing.  This incident did not receive lots of publicity. A federal report shows that a pilot made a hard landing in New Jersey after losing control. Previously, it belonged to a foreign company, and it had an improperly repaired part. 

After removing the paint from the helicopter, investigators found a red "X" sign on the part, which means "do not use" in aviation. Before that, in 2013, the helicopter made an emergency landing on the water, but in this case the floats inflated and everyone on board was fine.

Federal investigators are currently working to determine the reason why the helicopter that crashed on Thursday.


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