With tens of thousands of helicopter tours above Manhattan each year, some are questioning once again how wise it is for there to be so many chopper rides offered to the public right above the heart of the city. Some companies won't offer rides above the dense city streets because they say that it's not worth the risk if something were to go wrong. New York Helicopter Charter's owner Michael Roth told the Post, "If you have an engine failure at 1,600 feet and you are on top of the Empire State Building, there's no way you are going to autorotate [glide with rotors turning] to the East River to make a landing. These are machines. Things can happen." And would you have guessed that Manhattan residents have begun complaining about noise from the helicopters? Councilwoman Gale Brewer raised the issue when one of her constituents on West 83rd Street told her, "There is no silence. It's like there is a helicopter perpetually." Last summer one Manhattan operator agreed to phase out their flights. And if urban choppers do become a thing of the past altogether, there's always hot air balloons.
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