Hudson River Helicopter Crash: A tourist helicopter was crashed in New York's Hudson River on Thursday (April 10). A pilot and a Spanish family of five people were killed in the crash. Now, a team of lawyers who are demanding the closure of the region’s three heliports to non-essential traffic, has claimed that the incident was "entirely predictable". 

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Andrew Rosenthal, the chair of the Stop the Chop group that has campaigned for an end to helicopter sightseeing trips over New York City, told The Guardian that "a lot of these helicopters are 30 or even 40 years old, and this one was 21 years old, which is still pretty old". 

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“In New York if you have a yellow cab you have to get a new one every five to eight years, yet here we are letting these things fly in the sky at 30 and 40 years of age. There’s no age limit that I’m aware of, which is crazy," the lawyer said. 

“This was entirely predictable, and preventable. If we had a rollercoaster that killed people every two years, we would not keep it operating, yet we have the same kind of joy ride in the sky that kills people every couple of years, and we keep changing nothing,” he added. 

Also read: Hudson River Helicopter Crash: Victims, the prime suspect and WHAT exactly happened? 5 key questions answered

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Investigators are still working to find the cause of the crash. Witnesses of the incident claimed that the aircraft broke up in midair and plunged in pieces into the river that runs between the west side of Manhattan and the eastern shore of New Jersey. 

As per the Associated Press, at least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977.

Also read: Hudson helicopter crash: Six people, including three children, killed after sightseeing chopper crashes in river

(With inputs from agencies)