Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon is slamming New York Helicopter CEO Michael Roth over remarks he made about yesterday’s fatal Hudson River crash: “Sometimes machines break.”
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
”Yesterday’s helicopter crash was a horrific, traumatic experience for our region, and we are immensely grateful to our first responders for addressing the incident and keeping us safe,” Solomon, a candidate for mayor, said in a statement.
“We mourn the loss of a family and the pilot — and I cannot emphasize enough how disgusting and dismissive New York Helicopter CEO Michael Roth’s response was.”
A family of five was celebrating the mother/wife’s 40th birthday when the helicopter went down in the Hudson River near the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, claiming all of their lives, as well as the pilot.
In an interview with the New York Post, Roth is quoted as saying “This is horrific. But you gotta remember something, these are machines and they break.”
“‘Machines break’ is a hell of a comment considering these people were on his machine. Tourist helicopters are the most accident-prone vehicles in commercial aviation, in part because safety isn’t emphasized and safety management systems just aren’t good enough,” Solomon exclaimed.
“That means that folks are taking a chance on their own lives every time they board a tourist helicopter, whether or not they realize it — and this CEO was willing to dismiss the deaths that occurred on his watch as ‘machines breaking.’”
The downtown councilman further stated that he supports a bill in Trenton, where Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez (D-32, she has also weighed in on the tragedy) is a prime sponsor, that would ban tourist helicopters.
“There is legislation in Trenton that would ban tourist choppers from operating on the Hudson. I support that legislation. I demand its enactment and I demand real accountability from Roth and his company before another tragedy occurs,” Solomon concluded.
Tourist helicopters have been flying over and sometimes hovering too close to our roofs in Jersey City Heights. It’s constant noise and now we see that it’s dangerous too. Ban them!