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NEW YORK (AP) — The heliport atop the Pan American building was turned into a ‘‘gory mess” of “brains and ribs” after an idling helicopter keeled over and sent its whirling rotary blades slashing through passengers and onto the sidewalk 59 stories below. Five persons were killed in the accident Monday, in cluding a woman who was hit by falling debris a block away from the skyscraper that straddles Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan. At least eight others were injured. Three waiting passengers were literally cut to pieces as the blades hit the landing pad and off. A fourth man also died on the roof of serious injuries. One blade sailed over the Biltmore Hotel to land on Madison Avenue, striking Anne Barnecott, 29, of the Bronx in the rush hour pedestrian traffic. She died instantly Another blade boome ranged into a window of the Pan Am building, but no one was injured. Witnesses described the scene as ‘‘a gory mess” after the landing gear of the New York Airways helicopter, about to take off for John F. Kennedy International Airport, collapsed. ‘There were people decapitated,” said fireman Dick Martinson. “It was a very grim scene. There are ribs and brains showing all over the place.” Later Deputy Medical Examiner Michael Baden showed reporters several paperback books, sliced and blood . ‘This is what the bodies looked like,’ Baden said. “Their wounds were im mediately fatal. The four rooftop victims were believed to have been among those waiting to board the craft for the return trip to Kennedy Airport, said an airline spokesman were identified as Enrico Gnaga, 45, of Milan, Italy, who died at Bellevue Hospital; David Toomey of Montclair, N.J.; Michael Findley of Manhattan, and a man who remained unidentified early today. Reported in critical condition was Jean Koski, of Neptune Beach, Fla. She was traveling with her husband, George, and their 9-year-old son, John, who were injured less seriously A half-dozen new passengers had been taken aboard when the accident occurred, but the crew got them out a window after the craft keeled over There was no official explanation for the accident, but several reports bolstered the theory of the collapsed landing gear Nine investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and three from the Federal Aviation Administration arrived from Washington shortly after the accident Mayor Abraham Beame, who visited the rooftop, ordered the heliport license suspended until the in vestigation was completed. Local firemen attend meet Fourteen .Big Spring firemen recently par ticipated in the 7th annual Concho Valley Fire Control Conference which, just concluded in San Angelo. Among those firemen who completed the course were E.G. Miller,Derrill Miller, Clarence Foreman, Cecil Cevaslios, David Loveless, Ricky Womack, Cotton Taylor, Pete Anderson, Alvie Harrison, Colton Wright, Jimmy Bertran, Larry Williams, Elmo Wasson and Keithi Thomas. The course taught basic firefighting skills under different kinds of conditions. Copter crash injured list New York (AP) — Here is a list of the injured as a result of last night's helicopter crash on the Pan Am building: Carol Roasario, 26, of 31-21 Middletown Road, The Bronx, was treated at St. Clare's Hospital. The following were treated at Bellevue Hospital —George Connor, of Houston, Tex., and his wife, Theada. —George Koski, of West Neptune Beach, Fla.; his wife, Jean, and their 10-year old son, John. —Gloria Tepper, of 1304 Mudland Ave., Yonkers. —Raymond Masioli, 39, 1618 Pea Pond, Bellmore N.Y Janine O'Keefe, 20, of London, England AP WIREPHOTO ACCIDENT SCENE — Rescue workers gather about the overturned fuselage of a New York Airways helicopter after it overturned Monday on its landing pad on top of the Pan American Building in midtown New York. Five persons, including a woman on the street, were killed as the machine turned over and its spinning rotors tore away. Officials theorized that the machine fell over after its landing gear collapsed.
Newspaper Details
Big Spring Herald
Big Spring, Texas, US
Tue, May 17, 1977
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Janine H.
