Israeli pilot saves woman in New York
Former IAF helicopter pilot crashes chopper into New York City's East River and saves drowning passenger; receives praise from Mayor Bloomberg
WASHINGTON – An Israeli man who saved a British woman from drowning after the tourist helicopter he was piloting crashed in New York City’s East River was praised by Israel and by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday.
Yossi Ben-Bassat, 51, said the sightseeing chopper he had flown over Manhattan on Tuesday plunged into the water after he lost control of it. One of the six passengers, British tourist, Karen Butler fell into the water and was later found to have sustained a serious head injury.
The former Air Force pilot told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper he lost control of the helicopter after he felt it jolt sharply as a result of strong winds. One of the passengers, Alejandro Diaz, said shortly after takeoff, they felt the chopper move backwards and forwards before it turned over on its side.
Shortly before the crash, Ben-Bassat blew up the emergency buoy, which essentially saved the lives of the passengers. While he held onto the helicopter as it crashed sideways into the river, he heard one of the tourists call out: “(My wife) is in the water and she doesn’t know how to swim!”
Ben-Bassat dived into the water and found the women within seconds. Pulling Butler by the hair, he pulled her out of the river.
The New York Coast Guard then rescued the passengers and helped evacuate them to hospital, where the woman was admitted and later slipped into a coma. Butler’s husband said they came to New York to celebrate her 40th birthday.
Praise and cheers
”I don’t feel at all like a hero,” Ben-Bassat said. “I did what I had to do. I couldn’t leave her in the water.”
His wife said Ben-Bassat called her shortly after the incident.
”He told me, ‘I feel good, I just have a little accident,” she told Yedioth. “When we moved here six years ago he started working as a marketing manager. Then one day he said he misses being a pilot. He told me, ‘I want to be a pilot of peace, not war.”
Mayor Bloomberg later told reporters that Ben-Bassat was to be commended.
“The pilot encountered a malfunction in the aircraft, and helped save the passengers,” he said. “When the tourists return to their countries they’ll have stories to tell.”
Ben-Bassat served in the IDF for 23 years.
”I was a helicopter pilot and was discharged in 1996 with the rank of lieutenant colonel,” he told Ynet.” “I have been working with choppers here (in New York) for almost two years, but I am from Tel Aviv – I have an apartment there and my children are in Israel.”
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