Pilot killed in helicopter crash on Manhattan skyscraper

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Robert Moore

A pilot has been killed in a helicopter crash on a Manhattan skyscraper, New York Fire Department said.

The Fire Department said the helicopter appeared to have crash-landed on top of a tower not far from Rockefeller Centre and Times Square.

They added that fuel was leaking from the aircraft and there had been a fire, but this had now been put out and the leakage reduced.

The crash site on top of the skyscraper. Credit: Twitter

Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters that a fire began when the aircraft hit but is under control.

Mr Cuomo continued that the crash shook the building, but there were no reports of injuries in the tower.

Andrew Cuomo near the scene Credit: Mark Lennihan/AP

It was not immediately known what type of helicopter was involved.

Videos posted by onlookers showed emergency vehicles in the street, but no obvious damage to the skyscraper.

The helicopter was flying in heavy rain in air space that is supposed to be off-limits.

A flight restriction in effect since President Donald Trump took office bans aircraft from flying below 3,000ft within a one-mile radius of Trump Tower, which is a few blocks from the crash site.

Mr Trump said in a tweet that he had been briefed on the crash, and first responders on the scene did a "phenomenal job".