Retired NYPD pilot who saved people on World Trade Center takes first chopper flight with legacy son

 A retired NYPD helicopter pilot who rescued people trapped on the roof of the World Trade Center after the 1993 terror bombing flew together with his pilot officer son for the first time in a Father’s Day tribute.Carlos Sanchez and his son Randy took flight together Tuesday from the department’s Aviation Unit at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn — and The Post was along for the ride.“It’s incredible that we ended up here,” said Sanchez as he looked down on Gotham from the passenger seat on one of the NYPD’s Bell helicopters, piloted by his son.The fledgling NYPD pilot flew north from Brooklyn to Midtown, Manhattan, soaring at 800-feet and traveling about 100 mph, reaching the Empire State Building in about seven minutes.Once at the iconic skyscraper, he flew sharp right turns around the building as part of the on-the-job training all new NYPD pilots receive.“I still look up to my father to this day,” said Randy.“But as a kid it’s super inspiring to see your father have a job that not many people do.”  Seated next to Sanchez was NYPD pilot Anthony Daniels, who is the lead pilot in the unit, and trains the less experienced pilots.“He has a private helicopter license so it’s more to let him fly from the right seat and I’ll just monitor and help him along,” Daniels said later of the younger Sanchez.Also in the six-seat craft was Randy’s brother, Chris, who is also an NYPD police officer along with a Post reporter and photographer.

The elder Sanchez was a US Marine from 1978 to 1984 and helped secure the Panama Canal in the 1980s.He joined the NYPD in 1984 and served in the NYPD’s Aviation Unit for 14 years before retiring in 2002.One of the highlights from the dad’s NYPD career was flying the larger Bell 412 to rescue people from the top of the WTC after the 1993 terror bombing.“I was already a pilot in the unit, and we were flying the 412 and they were trying to blow up the World Trade Center,” he said.

“That was the first ...