Feds: Copter in fatal crash was too heavy

A helicopter that crashed into the East River during a sightseeing tour last fall, killing three people taking part in a birthday celebration, was carrying too much weight, according to a federal report released Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board report doesn't conclude what caused the crash, which occurred near the United Nations headquarters; a determination is expected in about two months.

But the report said the Bell 206 chopper had a capacity of 3,200 pounds. The estimated weight at takeoff, including all five passengers and fuel, was 3,228 pounds, the report said.

Federal investigators also weighed the helicopter after it was pulled from the river and estimated it could have been as heavy as 3,461 pounds, but that figure included soggy cushions and other water trapped in the aircraft after it was raised.

Pilot Paul Dudley said he asked people their weights and calculated that they would not be too heavy, the NTSB report says, but the surviving passenger said the pilot didn't ask and didn't calculate the total weight.

An attorney for Dudley noted Thursday that the report also discusses a potential aerodynamic problem unrelated to the weight.

Dudley, 56, told the NTSB that the nose of the helicopter swung unexpectedly to the left as he was taking off. When he tried to turn right, the aircraft went out of control and hit the river. The report noted that the Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory years ago warning that helicopters flying at low speeds can experience a problem like the one he described, known as an "unanticipated yaw."

"The key word being 'unanticipated,' " Dudley's attorney, Robert Hantman, said in a statement. He said the crash "principally resulted from the helicopter having a propensity" for the problem.

The helicopter sputtered and crashed shortly after takeoff from a riverbank heliport on Oct. 5, 2011. It sank 35 feet.

The surviving passenger, Paul Nicholson, told investigators the chopper's nose was pointed down at takeoff and he was leaning forward in his seat against the restraint. By his account, "the helicopter then began moving 'erratically,' the pilot made an exclamation similar to 'oops' and the passenger then 'knew something wasn't quite right,' " according to the report.