Hudson River helicopter crash: Tour company ordered to STOP operations immediately

The helicopter tour company whose sightseeing into the last week - killing six people - must stop operations immediately.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said today it has suspended New York Helicopter's air carrier certificate after an employee at the company who had voluntarily agreed to stop flights was then fired. Jason Costello, Director of Operations for the sightseeing firm, agreed in a phone call and email to cease flights until the investigation was complete, a letter states.

But just minutes later, the company’s CEO Michael Roth sent an email to the FAA saying Mr Costello didn’t have authority to do that and he was "no longer an employee of NY Helicopter."

The bombshell has emerged in the letter, written by the Chief Counsel of the FAA and sent to the press today, as the US continues to grieve the six victims, including .

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The FAA said in the letter: "The immediate firing of the Director of Operations raises serious safety concerns because it appears Mr Roth retaliated against Mr. Costello for making the safety decision to cease operations during the investigations.

Federal authorities had been encouraged to revoke the licence since Thursday's crash. Chuck Schumer, the senior United States senator from New York, said on Sunday: "We know there is one thing for sure about New York City’s helicopter tour companies: they have a deadly track record … and it is usually the companies, not the pilots, that are openly manipulating (FAA) rules, cutting corners and could well be putting profits over people... One of the things we can do to honor those lives and try and save others is to make sure it doesn’t happen again."

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New York Helicopter Tours was previously involved in two safety incidents investigated by federal aviation authorities. It has not yet commented on the FAA's decision to stop operations.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, which , including the CEO of Siemens Spain, his wife and their three children, Mr Roth said: "I’m absolutely devastated. The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter. And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business."

The cause of the crash remains unclear, which also , remains unclear. However, police confirmed on Saturday .