Paul Dudley reinterviewed on chopper crash
In this Sept. 1, 2009 photo provided by the Staten Island Advance, pilot Paul Dudley looks around for other air traffic while flying over the Hudson River. NYPD officials identified Paul Dudley as the pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the East River on Oct. 4, 2011. Credit: AP/Staten Island Advance, Michael McSweeney
The pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the East River, killing one passenger, was being interviewed for a second time Thursday, and a preliminary report on the accident should be released next week, a top federal official said.
The questioning of pilot Paul P. Dudley, 56, who has a home in Southampton, had been going on for three hours, Mark Rosekind, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a 5 p.m. news conference near the accident site.
"The reports are that he's cooperating fully with their questions and requests for information," Rosekind said.
Dudley had been interviewed by the NYPD after Tuesday's accident, and later spoke with the NTSB.
Rosekind said the weight and balance of the helicopter, a Bell 206 Jet Ranger, were areas investigators were looking at.
A preliminary report is scheduled for release Wednesday, Rosekind said.
Dudley was answering eight pages of questions that covered issues dealing with whether a weight and balance check was done -- and if so, when -- and if there was a preflight safety briefing done with the passengers, Rosekind said.
Dudley's answers could be key to helping investigators determine a cause of the crash.
"There's a . . . formula for the aircraft, which is why we have to get those numbers to make that calculation," Rosekind said. Another important question, Rosekind said, will be when Dudley calculated the weight and balance -- before his departure from Linden, N.J., or before departing the 34th Street Heliport after picking up the four passengers.
Dudley told investigators he carried 44 gallons of fuel when he left Linden Airport. The helicopter's maximum weight is 3,200 pounds.
An NTSB spokesman said officials await alcohol and drug test results, which are standard.
One of the five people aboard the helicopter, Sonia Marra, who had turned 40 this week and was the daughter of two of the injured passengers, was killed in the crash.The three others were injured, including one reported in critical condition with possible damage to her lungs and brain.
Dudley had earlier told crash investigators his aircraft experienced a problem shortly after takeoff from the heliport on East 34th Street, Rosekind said. NTSB investigators inspected the crash wreckage at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and found no signs that the engine caught fire or of any engine malfunction.
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