Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on FOX5's "Good Day New York"

April 11, 2025

Rosanna Scotto: As you know, we are following the tragic aftermath of that deadly helicopter crash yesterday, where a tourism chopper carrying a family of five apparently experienced a sudden mechanical failure causing it to plummet into the Hudson River.

Dan Bowens: Dozens of first responders and emergency officials descended on site very quickly, recovering all six victims, the family as well as the pilot, along with debris scattered all across the Hudson River. 

Joining us now, Mayor Eric Adams and FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker with insight into exactly what happened. Thank you both so much for joining us this morning.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you.

Bowens: Mr. Mayor, I'm sure you've had a chance to take a look at some of these images now. Have you ever seen anything like this, the way this chopper appeared to just rip apart before it goes into the water?

Mayor Adams: No, I have not. And you know, from time to time I use the NYPD helicopter. So it gives you a level of discomfort when you see something like that. But you've got to have faith in the mechanics and the pilots that are well trained. But no, I've never witnessed anything like that before.

Bowens: We know that the chopper took off about three o'clock yesterday afternoon, was in the air for about 18 minutes, went up, down to the Statue of Liberty, up to the George Washington Bridge, was heading back toward lower Manhattan. And at some point something went wrong. Any indication this morning, any new insight into what may have happened here?

Mayor Adams: No, and the federal government, they are extremely thorough in their investigation when you have crashes dealing with helicopters or airplanes. And so we are going to work with them, collaborate with them to find out exactly what happened here. 

We know the ages of the young people involved, four, eight and ten. And unfortunately, the eight-year-old, it was his birthday today. So this is probably part of a normal tourist attraction of seeing the city from the skyline. But it's just a real unfortunate situation and our heart goes out to the family members. And I communicated with the counsel general yesterday to let him know that we're here to help any way that's possible.

Scotto: Commissioner, obviously this is a tragedy. We are praying for that family. This could have been a disaster for New York City. I mean, just seconds away from, could have been a crash landing in Manhattan. 

Are your people with the fire department trained to handle something like this? Did that go through your mind at all?

Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker: Yeah, obviously it always goes through my mind. The FDNY is an all-hazards public safety agency. We train every day for incidents like this. Our rescued divers and our rescued swimmers and our firemen and EMTs and paramedics are really ready for anything. 

And so yesterday was a tragic day. But it was choreographed like a ballet working with our NYPD partners. We were at the scene very quickly. We have a fire boathouse almost directly opposite where this incident took place. And almost immediately we were joined by the NYPD very quickly. And unfortunately the results weren't great, but the rescue operation proves that we're ready for anything.

Scotto: That flotation device did not deploy. There were so many problems with that helicopter. Do we know anything more?

Fire Commissioner Tucker: Yeah, the federal government, NTSB and other federal agencies are working closely with New Jersey authorities to investigate this crash and we're going to let them do their job.

Bowens: New York Helicopters, the company that operated this particular tourism helicopter, has had a couple incidents in the past. In 2013, a chopper lost power over the Hudson. No injuries or issues there. Another issue that happened in New Jersey a couple years before that. 

Mr. Mayor, any worries at all about this specific company? Any questions that you have that you need answered this morning?

Mayor Adams: There are thousands of flights we have, particularly around tourism and even flights that would take individuals to different parts of the state. But safety is one of the parts of the investigation to find out exactly what happened. 

As you indicated, the helicopter parts came off the helicopter. So safety is going to be at the heart of this and to look at the record of the pilot as well as the record of maintenance of the helicopter. This is going to be a thorough investigation. The NTSB, really I don't think any investigatory body is as good as they are when it comes down to picking out, finding out exactly what happened in crashes of this magnitude.

Scotto: Mr. Mayor, I'm just wondering, you know, some people are just calling for these tour helicopters to stop in New York City. Is there a way that the city could stop it? Are you interested in stopping it with the landing and taking off in our area?

Mayor Adams: You know, helicopter transportation is used and is part of not only the attractions of tourism, but many of our business leaders, they use the mode of transportation to get to and from Kennedy Airport and other locations out as they go on with their daily lives. That is part of the attractions of businesses being in the city. People come into the city, seeing the city from the air as part of this attraction. 

What we must do is make sure it's safe, make sure it's done correctly and make sure that all proper maintenance is put in place. And so I'm not I'm not looking to stop or advocate to stop it from happening. Air travel is important. We’re get ready to move to electric helicopters. That is the way of the future. And so air travel is crucial to this city and we need to make sure it's done safely.

Scotto: Commissioner, getting back to the rescue and your people being in the water, how difficult was it for them to remove those bodies from the helicopter because they were upside down, right? 

Fire Commissioner Tucker: These are complicated and very tricky rescue situations made more difficult by the weather yesterday, which was not great. And the water is still quite cold. But again, the professionals that were in the water from the FDNY and the NYPD did an absolutely amazing job. And, you know, these people were gotten to very quickly, removed very quickly and unfortunately succumbed to their injuries.

Scotto: They buckled up in the helicopter.

Fire Commissioner Tucker: Yeah, I mean, everybody was buckled up, but it's still– you saw the video, as I did. I'm sure that that helicopter came down pretty hard.

Bowens: We heard that two people may have been pulled alive or they were alive when they were actually rescued and then later died, either on the way to the hospital or at the hospital. Can you confirm that?

Fire Commissioner Tucker: There were two people removed to the hospital and four people were at the scene, but I can't confirm whether they were alive or dead. The truth is that we treat everyone like they're alive. We pull everyone out of there quickly. And the medical paramedics and EMTs on the Jersey side addressed those concerns.

Bowens: Mr. Mayor, I just want to go back to the issues that some people have brought up about these helicopters in the past. Obviously, it's a huge part of the tourism. There are helipads all around near the water in New York City. 38 people, though, have died in helicopter crashes over the course of time in New York City. 

Is there anything that you think at this point or is it too early to start talking about, oh, we need to have restrictions here or different things there?

Mayor Adams: No, and I think that after any form of malfunction, crash or challenge, you know, sometimes that’s immediate thought or we should ban the helicopters or we should not have this tourism type of attraction in our city. 

And I think we should let the investigation go its course and make sure that safety is important. And I cannot overemphasize when I speak with business leaders and our tourism industry, we have sixty five million tourists that came into the city last year. This is all part of the attraction of being in New York. People want to see the city from the sky as part of the attractions.

What is crucial here is that any airport or any air device that is done with the proper maintenance and proper safety to make sure that it's done correctly. And I think that's what we need to lean into. And that's what this investigation is going to determine.

Scotto: Mayor Eric Adams, FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker, thank you so much for being on Good Day this morning. 

Fire Commissioner Tucker: Thank you.