cshimokita[Photo Forum Moderator]
10714
š Eye opening perspective...
May 22, 2022,04:43 AM
Until recently Tokyo was (more or less) a no fly zone...
With increased use of Haneda for international flights
they loosened the rules a bit.
I love flying over the big cities after dark... everyone is different.
Casey
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In the 1970s I knew one of the helicopter pilots that landed on the Pan Am Building ... it must have been a great way to see NYC from above
16 May 1977: At approximately 5:32 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, New York Airways Flight 971, a Sikorsky S-61L helicopter, landed at the Pan Am Building rooftop heliport (JPB) in New York City. Flight 971 had originated at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and carried 20 passengers and a crew of three.
2 minutes, 21 seconds after touch down, at approximately 5:35 p.m., the right main landing gear of the helicopter failed and the S-61 rolled over to the right. All main rotor blades struck the concrete helipad. Four passengers who were waiting to board were struck by the blades and killed. One of the blades, 28 feet, 10 inches (8.787 meters) long and weighing 209.3 pounds (94.9 kilograms) flew out over the buildingās railing and fell alongside the building before crashing through an office window on the 36th floor. The main rotor blade broke into two segments, one of which fell to the street below, striking a pedestrian and killing him. Additional pieces of the main rotor blades were found up to four blocks north of the Pan Am Building.
A similar accident had occurred when a Los Angeles Helicopters Sikorsky S-61L suffered a fatigue fracture of its right landing gear and rolled over at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in 1963.
In the late 1970s, New York City banned helicopters from landing on rooftop helipads because of the dangers it presented, but it didn't last long. Today there are certain restrictions in place, but helicopters are still allowed to take off and land using one of the three helipads in the city. ā various sources
.