Woman killed in NYC helicopter crash

An Australian woman on a visit to New York with other members of her family was killed Tuesday when a helicopter crashed in the East River just after takeoff. The woman, identified as Sonia Marra, 40, of Sydney, was apparently trapped in the machine, The New York Times reported. Witnesses said the helicopter appeared to be having problems soon after becoming airborne. "I saw the helicopter start to spin, and then it went down," Jose Reyes, a doorman at a building at First Avenue and 36th Street, told the Times. "Three seconds, then boom." The pilot, Paul Dudley, is reported to have told his lawyer the helicopter was having mechanical problems. Dudley, who manages an airport in Linden, N.J., was giving friends a tour of New York from the air. He was described as an experienced pilot of helicopters and airplanes. Also surviving the crash were Paul and Harriet Nicholson of Portugal, apparently Marra's stepfather and mother, and a friend, Helen Tamaki, of Sydney.