East 34th Street Heliport is a
heliport on the east side of
Manhattan located on the
East River Greenway, between the
East River and the
FDR Drive
The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly called the FDR Drive for short, is a limited-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park ...
viaduct. Also known as the Atlantic Metroport at East 34th Street, it is a public heliport owned by
New York City and run by the
Economic Development Corporation.
History
The East 34th Street Heliport opened on the site of the original
East 34th Street Ferry Landing
The East 34th Street Ferry Landing provides slips to ferries and excursion boats in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located on the East River in New York City east of the FDR Drive just north of East 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. T ...
in 1972, providing charter, commuter, and sightseeing flights. It served as a replacement for the heliport atop the
Pan Am Building, which closed in 1968. (That heliport reopened for three months in 1977 before a helicopter crash killed five people.)
During the 1980s and early 1990s,
New York Helicopter operated frequent scheduled service from the heliport to New York's
John F. Kennedy International Airport. Fourteen-seat turbine-powered
Sikorsky S-58T
The Sikorsky H-34 "Choctaw" (company designation S-58) is an American piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. It has seen extended use when ad ...
helicopters were used on this service.
After several residential high rises were built in the neighborhood in the 1980s, the city was pressured into reducing helicopter traffic in the area. Sightseeing flights were banned from the heliport in 1997. In 1998, flights were limited to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 pm on weekends. Weekend flights were banned altogether later in the year.
US Helicopter
US Helicopter () was an independent air shuttle service that operated regularly scheduled helicopter flights from Manhattan to Newark and JFK airports. Flights left from Downtown (JRB, near Wall Street) and Midtown (TSS, East 34th Street) Manh ...
provided regular passenger service from the Heliport to JFK and
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...
from 2007 to September 2009.
Current operations
Since this is a heliport and not an airport, there are no
instrument procedures for this facility. Boats in the nearby
East River require pilots to be careful when approaching the heliport's landing pad.
Statistics
In 2010, 72% of the flights were air taxi, 18%
general aviation, 9% commuters, and less than 1% military.
In 2017, 96% were air taxi, 3% transient general aviation, and 2% military.
Accidents and incidents
* On May 23, 1974, David Frank Kamaiko, a 22-year man from
Greenwich Village claiming to be a member of the
Jewish Defense League, hijacked a helicopter from the East 34th Street Heliport and demanded $2 million in ransom. After landing on top of the
Pan Am Building, the pilot tried to escape and Kamaiko shot him in the arm. The hijacker was held by the other hostage inside the helicopter until he was taken into custody by police.
* On February 27, 1975, a
Bell 47G-2A on a non-commercial flight from
Garden City crashed into a fence while attempting to land at the 34th Street Heliport in gusty wind conditions. The pilot survived but was severely burned in the resulting fire.
*On April 26, 1985, the engine on an
Aérospatiale SA 360 Dauphin failed shortly after takeoff from the East 34th Street Heliport, sending the helicopter into the East River. Five passengers and two crewmembers were rescued but one passenger trapped inside the submerged craft was killed.
* On May 2, 1988, a
Bell 206-B on a sightseeing flight around Manhattan crashed into the East River near
Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...
while preparing to land at the East 34th Street Heliport, killing one person and injuring four others.
* On February 10, 1990, a strong gust of wind sent a
Bell 206-L on a sightseeing flight crashing into the East River shortly after taking off from the East 34th Street Heliport. A 14-year-old boy was unconscious when pulled from the wreckage and later died. The pilot and three other passengers (including the boy's father and two French tourists) were injured but survived the crash.
* On June 17, 2005, a
Sikorsky S-76C carrying six corporate executives from
MBNA returning to
Delaware after a business meeting in New York City crashed into the East River less than one minute after taking off from the East 34th Street Heliport. All eight people aboard survived the crash.
* On October 4, 2011, a
Bell 206
The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...
crashed into the East River killing one person after taking off from the East 34th Street Heliport. The pilot and three other passengers on board were rescued. One week after the accident, a second passenger died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. The
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
report on the crash, released on December 20, 2012, said the cause was excess weight in the helicopter; the aircraft is rated to carry , but it was estimated to have weighed between and at takeoff.
* On June 10, 2019, an
AgustaWestland AW109 Power en route to Linden, New Jersey, crashed into the
AXA Equitable Center
Axa Equitable Center (originally the Equitable Tower or Equitable Center West) is an office skyscraper at 787 Seventh Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1986 and desi ...
, Seventh Avenue, which sparked a fire on the top of the building, killing the pilot Tim McCormack.
See also
*
Aviation in the New York metropolitan area
*
Downtown Manhattan Wall Street Heliport
*
East 34th Street Ferry Landing
The East 34th Street Ferry Landing provides slips to ferries and excursion boats in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located on the East River in New York City east of the FDR Drive just north of East 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. T ...
*
West 30th Street Heliport
References
;Notes
External links
{{New York City Area Airports
Aviation in New York City
Transportation buildings and structures in Manhattan
Heliports in New York (state)
Airports established in 1972
1972 establishments in New York City
34th Street (Manhattan)