No indication of terrorism in Manhattan helicopter crash, as incident rekindled memories of Sept. 11

There is no indication that the helicopter crash in Manhattan was terrorism related.

For hours on Monday, fog surrounded the skyscrapers in Midtown Manhattan, hiding the upper floors behind a gauzy, grayish curtain.

The New York Times reports that alerts spread on cellphones as a smoky plume streamed through the fog. New Yorkers, unnerved, wondered whether the crash had been deliberate. It rekindled memories of a far different day — Sept. 11, 2001, when jetliners commandeered by terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

About the time that the late-lunch crowd would have been signaling for the check, there were noises that seemed out of place, even in noisy New York City: the disturbing roar of an aircraft flying low, followed by what some assumed was an explosion.

A helicopter had crashed onto the roof of an office building on Seventh Avenue and burst into flames.

Only a pilot was aboard the doomed aircraft. He was killed, and investigators were trying to determine if he had been trying to make an emergency landing.