Thursday’s horrifying tourist helicopter crash into the Hudson River that killed six people was one of several deadly tragedies involving choppers in New York City.

At least 32 people have died in helicopter accidents in the Big Apple since 1977, according to The Associated Press.

In 1977, the landing gear on a Sikorsky S-61L malfunctioned as passengers waited to board from the roof of the Pan Am Building at 200 Park Avenue, where the MetLife Building stands today.

The chopper tipped on its side, and its spinning rotor blades killed four people — including film director Michael Findlay — and injured a fifth. A broken piece of blade fell down to the streets below and killed a pedestrian and injured another.

In 1985, a Dauphin 360C helicopter operated by the Garden City, Long Island-based company, New York Helicopter, carrying six passengers, crash-landed in the East River, killing a man identified by reports at the time as a 40-year-old businessman from West Germany. Five additional passengers and two crew members survived.

In 1986, WNBC traffic reporter Jane Dornacker died in the middle of an afternoon broadcast after her helicopter crashed in the Hudson River near 45th Street. 

”New Jersey, the outbound Lincoln Tunnel looks a lot better for you,” she told the audience at 4:46 P.M. ”In New Jersey,” she continued, before going silent, the New York Times wrote at the time.

The next thing the radio audience heard was her repeating, “Hit the water! Hit the water! Hit the water!”

In 1997, a six-seat BK-117 helicopter owned by the Colgate-Palmolive Company crashed into the East River after taking off from the 60th Street heliport — killing Craig Tate, the firm’s chief technical officer, and badly injuring a second executive.

Police said the chopper crashed in the water after the aircraft’s tail rotor somehow disconnected.

In 2009, nine people were killed when a Eurocopter AS350 tourist helicopter with five Italian tourists onboard collided with a small private plane over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken. The flight was operated by Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours. 

News agency ANSA identified the Italian tourists as Tiziana Pedrone, Fabio Gallazzi, Giacomo Gallazzi, Michele Norelli and Filippo Norelli. The small plane was a 1976 Piper. It lost contact with the ground over the river between the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels shortly after takeoff, sources said at the time. All four passengers onboard were killed.

In 2018, an “open door” Liberty Helicopters flight operated for FlyNyon, also a Eurocopter AS350, went down in the East River, killing five people. Two passengers died at the scene and three others were pronounced dead at the hospital. A jury later awarded the family of the victims $116 million in a lawsuit filed against the company and the pilot, Richard Vance, who survived the crash. 

Gary C. Robb, the lead attorney who represented the parents of 2018 East River disaster victim Trevor Cadigan, said Thursday’s crash was “a tragic day for aviation” and called for an investigation while speaking with The Post after viewing disturbing video of the calamity.

“Why did the emergency flotation system not work? You saw the three large pontoons – the pilot knew they were going to be landing in the water. It’s a big handgrip he has to pull to activate the pontoons, like a trigger release,” he noted.

“Why were the occupants unable to extricate while the cabin was only a few feet below water?” he wondered, adding, “What triggered the in-flight malfunction?”

In 2019, an Agusta A109E helicopter crash-landed on the roof of a 54-story building in Midtown Manhattan, killing the pilot, later identified as Tim McCormack.

McCormack was the only person onboard and was known as a well-respected pilot. It was speculated by airport officials that he suffered a mechanical failure while in flight. 

The helicopter took flight from the 34th Street heliport and went down just 11 minutes later, cops said at the time. A piece of debris from the chopper fell over 700 feet and landed in front of a black GMC Suburban SUV parked on the street below.

Speaking about Thursday’s deadly crash, Mayor Eric Adams puzzlingly likened the disaster to Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s “Miracle on the Hudson” when US Airways Flight 1549 splashed down in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009. But in that disaster, everyone survived. 

“It’s almost reminiscent of the plane going down on the Hudson River. Thank God we didn’t lose any lives back then,” Adams told reporters near the scene.