Pilot of Helicopter That Crashed on New York High-Rise Didn’t Have Proper Certificate, FAA says – CNN

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(CNN)The helicopter pilot who crashed on to the roof of a New York City building was not licensed to fly in poor weather, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The pilot, identified as Tim McCormack, died in the crash, law enforcement officials said.”Pilots must have an instrument rating to fly in bad weather,” an FAA spokeswoman said. “This pilot didn’t have an instrument rating.”

An instrument rating requires about 100 or more hours of additional training on top of basic pilot training, CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo said.

It helps pilots learn to fly without visual reference to the sky under instrument flight rules, by relying solely on instruments to “fly blind” in clouds or heavy fog under the direction of air traffic control, Schiavo said.

At the time of Monday’s flight, moderate to heavy rain was falling in the city, and visibility at Central Park was down to 1.25 miles. Winds were from the east at 9 mph.

Source: Pilot of helicopter that crashed on New York high-rise didn’t have proper certificate, FAA says – CNN