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Federal investigators have issued an urgent recommendation to ban complicated makeshift safety harnesses like the ones apparently used in a helicopter crash that killed five.

The urgent safety recommendation report issued on Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board sheds light on the tragic final moments of five passengers who died on March 11.

Pilot Richard Vance, who survived, was the only person in the chopper wearing a manufacturer-installed restraint system, the report says. 

The five passengers, who all drowned when the helicopter rolled over in the East River after the engine failed, were all wearing makeshift harnesses, provided by operator FlyNYON, the NTSB said.

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U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Go Team gathers information on scene while awaiting salvage of the helicopter that crashed in the East River in New York, U.S., in this image released on March 12

 

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Floating crane pictured lifting helicopter out of the water on 34th street after deadly East River crash

 

The new report says the passengers were wearing a harness made with 'off-the shelf' components including a 'nylon fall-protection harness'. The fall-protection harness seen above is used in construction work and sells on Amazon for $40.99

'This harness system was not installed by the helicopter manufacturer; it was comprised of off-the-shelf components (a nylon fall-protection harness tethered via a lanyard to the helicopter) that were provided to the passengers by FlyNYON,' the report said. 

 

Pilot Richard Vance was wearing a manufacturer-installed restraint and survived

The crashed chopper was an Airbus Helicopters AS350B2. 

On its website, FlyNYON claims to use 'proprietary eight-point safety harness systems.'

Nylon fall-protection harnesses are typically used by construction workers, and are available for as little as $40 - but have not been evaluated by the FAA for aviation use.

The harness system on the doomed helicopter was never inspected by the FAA because it was not required equipment, the report said.

'To self-egress from the harness system, the passengers would have had to either cut the tether with a provided cutting tool or unscrew a locking carabiner located at their back,' the NTSB report continued.

Rescue dive crews had to cut all five passengers from the harnesses after the helicopter flipped and sank in the frigid waters of the East River. 

'The pilot, who was wearing only the manufacturer-installed restraint system, was able to release his restraints, escape the helicopter, and survive,' the report said.

 

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Trevor Cadigan, right, recorded this image shortly before takeoff. Cadigan and his friend, Brian McDaniel, left, would drown strapped inside their harnesses in the East River