By SABRINA TAVERNISE and ANDY NEWMAN; Michael Brick, Thomas J. Lueck and Jess Wisloski contributed reporting for this article
Published: May 05, 2004
A television news helicopter covering a triple shooting in Brooklyn spun out of control and crashed onto the roof of a Flatbush apartment building last night, snapping in two but sparing the three people on board any serious injuries.
The WNBC-TV helicopter, Chopper 4, hit the roof of a four-story brick apartment building at 2502 Cortelyou Road about 6:30 p.m., and then plunged onto the roof of a two-story building, the authorities said.
The helicopter landed in two pieces on the roof of the smaller building, 2514 Cortelyou Road near East 25th Street.
”I cannot believe that three people walked away from that,” a neighbor, Dwayne Simpkins, said.
The people on board, a reporter, Andrew Torres, and two pilots, Russ Mowry and Hassan Taan-Marin, were taken to area hospitals. None of their injuries were life-threatening, the police said.
”We’ve spoken to all three men and they seem to be O.K.,” said Liz Fischer, a spokeswoman for WNBC. ”We’re just thankful that they’re safe.”
“Chopper 4 is going down.”: Gothamist
News helicopter crashes onto NYC rooftop | StAugustine.com
NYC’s News Chopper 4 crashes on Brooklyn Rooftop
TV Helicopter Crashes on Brooklyn Rooftop – New York Times