I once saw a helicopter go down in the East River next to Carl Schurz park when I lived on the UES. I was the first to call 911 and watched the whole nightmare unfold.
The helicopter lost power, auto-rotated down safely, landed softly on the water, and everything seemed like it was ok. Except one of the landing gear airbags failed to inflate, causing the helicopter to flip upside down in the water. The pilot scrambled out and was screaming for help as he bobbed in and out of the helicopter, trying to rescue his passengers. Come to find out, this was an aerial photography tour and the passengers were secured to the helicopter via a full-body harness and a locking carabiner in the middle of their back. Nobody managed to free themselves from their restraints and all 4 drowned. Eventually the pilot gave up, crawled on top of the half-submerged helicopter, and floated down the East River as he continued to scream for help.
Helicopters are death traps and will kill you in ways you can’t even imagine. Life is too precious to fly in a helicopter. It’s not worth it.