This was the first of three fatal crashes for New York Airways, a regional passenger helicopter company headquartered at LaGuardia that served the city and a few nearby airports. The most high profile of the three New York Airways disasters was a 1977 crash high atop the Pan Am building in Midtown Manhattan, which led to the removal of helipads from Manhattan buildings. After a third fatal crash in Newark Airport, the airline ceased operation and declared bankruptcy a month later.