The Blackhawk helicopter was hovering at about 300 feet near Midland Beach in Staten Island when a DJI Phantom drone struck the helicopter's blade and window frame, which obliterated the drone but did lodge a piece of debris in the helicopter that the NTSB would use to identify the owner of the drone.

When interviewed by the NTSB, the drone operator admitted that he was flying the drone outside of his visual range and was unaware of the helicopter's flight path. Data from the drone operator's controller showed the drone's flight from Dyker Beach Park out over the water, along the Coney Island shore, and then looping back over open water toward Staten Island. It was at that point that the drone hit the helicopter. It was unclear whether the drone operator was charged in the crash.