More detail on this person: He'd flown
helicopters during the Vietnam War, and later in
New York City for WABC-TV, as a news pilot,
brought viewers close to countless horrific
events: the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Staten
Island ferry crash and the recent steam pipe
explosion in Manhattan.
But on Sunday evening it was doing something
comparatively safe - standing on a midtown
sidewalk - that put Paul Smith in harm's way.
Police say Smith, 60, of West Islip, and his wife
Donna, 55, had just left a restaurant when a
taxicab jumped the curb and ran over him. Smith
was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center where he
was pronounced dead on arrival. Yesterday, his
wife remained there in stable condition with a
fractured leg. A 7-year-old boy had his arm broken
in the crash, police said. It was not clear
whether he was related to Smith. No charges have
been filed against the driver, who tested negative
for alcohol.
Police were reviewing security cameras and
investigating the accident, which took place at
Third Avenue and East 40th Street. They said the
cabbie said he was swerving to avoid another car.
The driver, Mohammed Chowdury, told reporters
last night he was forced off the road by a black
car that cut him off. He had been driving a cab
just five weeks, he said.
As word of Smith's death continued to spread
among friends and co-workers yesterday, many
recalled a talented pilot keen on safety who
shoveled his elderly neighbors' driveway and was
close to his two grown sons and wife. "No one's
doing well, and how could they be?" said Shannon
Sohn, a helicopter reporter for WABC-TV who flew
with Smith for the last 10 years. "But they're
going to pull through it because they were an
amazingly strong family ... He raised boys who are
going to get their mother through this."
Smith's friends said he'd gotten his start in
aviation during Vietnam, eventually flying some of
the most difficult helicopters to navigate. He
completed two tours and continued his love for
flying, going on to become a pilot and director of
safety for Helicopters Inc., a St. Louis-based
company that provides news helicopters.
"He was our guardian in that helicopter,"said
Kenny Plotnik, vice president and news director
for WABC-TV. "Safety was his first, middle and
last name."
Though he wasn't responsible for taking
photographs or reporting, Sohn said, Smith quickly
took on a flair for news gathering - eager to be
the first at the scene and get the best material,
all the while with an eye toward safety. It was
Smith, Sohn recalled, who flew her toward the
Henry Hudson Parkway in Washington Heights
when a retaining wall collapsed onto the roadway
in 2005, and when a helicopter for Channel 4
crashed on a Flatbush rooftop in 2004 - coverage
of which won WABC-TV an Emmy.
Despite any stress, Smith remained cool under
pressure.
John Del Giorno, whose son also sat next to Smith
in the newscopter for WABC-TV, remembered how
on Sept. 11, 2001, Smith had calmed his son as
they were up in the air when the first plane
struck the World Trade Center. Del Giorno, a World
War II veteran, said: "He treated me like I was a
war hero. I should have been treating him like a
war hero."
Neighbors in West Islip recalled how proud he was
of his two sons - one a recent college graduate,
the other a New York City police officer. "It
makes you think how fragile life really is," said
Diane Belliveau. "This is going to leave a big
emptiness on the street."
Maria Alvarez and staff writers Rocco Parascandola
and John Valenti contributed to this story.
Copyright C 2007,
It is with great sadness that that I report the
passing of one of our brothers, Paul M. Smith
(Class 70-50) who served with 114th AHC in the
Mekong Delta in 1971 and 1972. Paul was killed
when an out of control taxi hit him while on the
sidewalk in NYC-his wife, Donna, was severely
injured but is recovering. Because of Donna's
inability to travel, the funeral and burial will
be sometime this spring at Arlington National
Cemetery.
After leaving the Army, Paul traveled and
eventually returned to finish college with me in
Philadelphia (LaSalle University--1976). Paul went
home to Oklahoma for a while and married Donna
Smith who he met in Philadelphia. Their first son
Cory (now 26) was born in Oklahoma. Paul then
relocated to New York City for a flying job with
Island Helicopters, and resided on Long Island.
Their second son, Cale (now 24), was born there.
For the last 10 years Paul has been flying for ABC
7 Eyewitness News in NYC. We always said Paul
had nine lives because he served two combat tours,
one as a tank platoon commander and the other as
a helicopter pilot. He also had his share of
helicopter incidents including a touch-down
autorotation to the East River in NYC after losing
an engine with a load of foreign tourists. His
most telling comment was that he had it under
control, and the biggest surprise was that when he
fired the floats, they actually both inflated.
Paul also won an Emmy for covering the crash of
another news helicopter in NYC. Paul was flying
the news helicopter on 9-11 at the World Trade
Center, where he arrived after the first plane hit
but before the second one did.
Paul and I met in flight school, were stationed
together in RVN, and then went to college
together. Paul was passionate about a number of
things, and the big three were his family,
aviation safety and an overarching sense fairness
and justice. Paul was a longtime member and
former President of the Eastern Region Helicopter
Council and currently served as their Safety
Committee Chairman. He will receive
(posthumously) the Helicopter Association
International's Joe Mashman Safety Award at the
HAI's annual meeting in Houston on Feb. 25th,
2008. Paul touched many people over his life, and
his passing is a great loss to his family, fellow
helicopter pilots and many others.
From: Rich Golaszewski
Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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