Helicopter crashes into former AXA Equitable headquarters

A helicopter crashed into the roof of the AXA Equitable Center building in New York City around 1:45 p.m. Monday, according to New York City Fire Department officials.

The crash killed the pilot of the helicopter and caused a fire, officials said around 2:45 p.m.

Officials reported that firefighters quickly extinguished the fire but were still dealing with fuel leaking from the helicopter late in the day.

The AXA Equitable Center is at 787 Seventh Ave. in Manhattan, between 51st and 52nd streets.

Officials evacuated the AXA Equitable Center building and temporarily blocked traffic on Seventh Avenue from 42nd Street to 57th Street, to give firefighters and other emergency response teams room to operate.

The AXA Equitable Center Building

The company now known as AXA Equitable built the 51-story building at 787 Seventh Ave. in 1985.

At that time, AXA Equitable was an arm of AXA S.A. of Paris, and it went by the name AXA Financial. The building on Seventh Avenue was originally known as the Equitable Tower, which housed the Equitable Center arts complex.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) bought the building from AXA for $1.9 billion in 2016.

AXA Equitable now has its headquarters offices a few blocks away from the AXA Equitable Center, at 1290 Avenue of the Americas.

Two company employees work in an AXA Equitable video studio in the AXA Equitable Center, and those employees are fine, according to an AXA Equitable spokesman.

A number of people who work in the building reported on Twitter that they felt the building shake from the impact of the helicopter.

This story first published on our sister site, ThinkAdvisor.com.

See also:

• Axa’s IPO flop shows investor dismay at insurer’s strategy
• Understanding how property is valued after a fire