NEW YORK - A helicopter on a private tour with five people aboard sputtered and crashed into the East River yesterday afternoon shortly after takeoff from a riverbank heliport, killing one passenger and injuring three others.
The 40-year-old victim apparently was trapped inside as the chopper sank about 50 feet below the surface of the swift-moving water, police said. New York Police Department divers pulled her from the water about 90 minutes after the Bell 206 Jet Ranger went down about 3 p.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
