• Amid calls from for an end to non-essential helicopter flights in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams said he does not support additional restrictions to air travel in the city, citing city efforts to support electric flights.
• “I’m not looking to stop it from happening, air travel is important and as we get ready to move to electric helicopters,” Adams said in an interview to a local morning show.
• State and local politicians are calling on the city to ban non-essential helicopter flights following the deadly Hudson chopper crash on Thursday afternoon.

Amid calls from local lawmakers and mayoral candidates for an end to non-essential helicopter flights in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams said he does not support additional restrictions to air travel in the city, citing city efforts to support electric flights.

In an interview with FOX5 on Friday morning, Adams explained that the city relies on air travel to attract businesses and tourism.

“That is part of the attractions of businesses being in the city, people coming to the city, seeing the city from the air. As part of the attraction, what we must do is make sure it’s safe, make sure is done correctly,” the mayor said.

Adams’ response follows calls from city and state lawmakers to ban non-essential helicopter flights after a sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday.

New York State Assemblymember Robert Carroll, who represents Brooklyn, argued that the city’s airspace had become too congested and safety protocols had become “too lax.”

Unfortunately, yesterday’s tragic helicopter crash highlights why non-essential helicopter flights should be banned. Our airspace is too congested, and the safety protocols are too lax. These flights are a danger to all who ride them.

— Assemblymember Robert Carroll (@Bobby4Brooklyn) April 11, 2025

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“Yesterday’s helicopter crash was a tragedy that didn’t need to happen,” said mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. “We must end non-essential helicopter flights immediately. With limited airspace and lax safety protocols, these flights pose undue danger to passengers and our city.”

City Councilmember Keith Powers and State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, both of whom are running for Manhattan borough president, have supported the ban on choppers taking off from city-owned helipads.

“There’s a big conversation to have about the entire industry. There’s the every day calls that come in every day,” Powers said. “There have also been several incidents since I’ve been in the council where people lost their life”

At least 37 people have died in helicopter crashes in New York City since 1977, when an accident on a skyscraper landing pad led to restrictions on where choppers could land.