A sightseeing tourist helicopter has broken apart midair before plunging into the Hudson River, killing the family of five and pilot on board in the latest horror US aviation disaster.
At around 3.15pm on Thursday, the Bell 206 LongRanger plummeted from the sky and crashed upside-down in the river that divides New York City from New Jersey off the west coast of Manhattan.
Officials confirmed the pilot and a family of five Spanish tourists, including three children, died in the tragedy, after FlightRadar24 showed the helicopter had taken off from Manhattan heliport on a sightseeing tour.
Here is everything we know so far about the crash:
What happened?
A family of five Spanish tourists excitedly boarded a helicopter on Thursday afternoon to do a sightseeing tour while they were visiting New York.
Photos posted on the helicopter company’s website showed the couple and their three children smiling as they boarded just before the flight took off.
The family along with the pilot took off in the Bell 206 helicopter from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at 2.59pm.
To begin the tour, the aircraft headed towards a classic sight, the Statue of Liberty, before flying north along the west side of Manhattan up the river to the George Washington Bridge. It then turned south, flying closer to New Jersey.
It was 16 minutes after taking off, at 3.15pm, that the helicopter went off the radar.
Eyewitness reported hearing bangs like gunshots before seeing black smoke billowing into the air from a helicopter spinning uncontrollably down into the water.
Dani Horbiak was at her Jersey City home when she heard what sounded like "several gunshots in a row, almost, in the air". She looked out her window and saw the chopper "splash in several pieces into the river”.
The helicopter was spinning uncontrollably with “a bunch of smoke coming out” before it slammed into the water, Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, told The Associated Press.
Jersey City resident Peter Park told The New York Times he heard a “loud bang” and looked out his window to see helicopter blades falling into the river so close to the New Jersey shore that he feared they may strike people.
Another witness, Bruce Wall, said he saw the aircraft "falling apart" in midair, with the tail and main rotor coming off. The main rotor was still spinning without the helicopter as it fell.
Footage emerged on social media appearing to show the tail and main propeller separating from the fuselage while mid-air before the aircraft plummeted into the Hudson River near the shoreline of Jersey City, New Jersey, overturning as it was submerged.
Who are the victims?
On air traffic control radio, an NYPD helicopter pilot can be heard saying: "Be advised, you do have an aircraft down. Holland Tunnel. Please keep your eyes open for anybody in the water."
About five minutes after that, someone asks, "Hey Finest," a reference to the NYPD's call sign, "What's going on over there by the Holland Tunnel?"
"The ship went down," someone else responds.
Rescue boats circled the submerged aircraft within minutes of impact near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel. Recovery crews hoisted the mangled helicopter out of the water just after 8pm using a floating crane.
Six people were also recovered from the river, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
He confirmed that the family and pilot were all killed. Divers retrieved four bodies from the scene, while two of the victims were pulled from the water alive and rushed to nearby hospitals, but died from their injuries.
The family was identified by officials as Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, a global manager at an energy technology company, and their three children: Agustín, 10, Mercè, 8, and Víctor, 4.
Mr Escobar worked for the tech company Siemens for more than 27 years, most recently as global CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, according to his LinkedIn account. In late 2022 he briefly became president and CEO of Siemens Spain. In a post about the position, he thanked his family: “My endless source of energy and happiness, for their unconditional support, love ... and patience."
Mr Escobar regularly posted about the importance of sustainability in the rail industry and often travelled internationally for work, including journeying to India and the UK in the past month. He also was vice president of the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain since 2023.
Ms Camprubí Montal worked in Barcelona, Spain, for energy technology company Siemens Energy for about seven years, including as its global commercialisation manager and as a digitalisation manager, according to her LinkedIn account.
The pilot has been identified as Seankese Johnson, 36. He received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Johnson had logged about 800 hours of flight time as of March, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters on Friday. He transitioned to aviation after a 12-year career in the U.S. Navy.
What may have caused the crash?
It is not yet known why the crash happened.
Visibility over the river was not substantially impaired, the AP reports, and the water temperature was 45F.
Video of the crash suggested that a “catastrophic mechanical failure” left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter, Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps told the AP.
The flight was operated by New York Helicopters, officials said.
“It’s devastation,” the company’s owner Michael Roth told The New York Post. “I’m a father and a grandfather and to have children on there, I’m devastated. I’m absolutely devastated.”
He said: “The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter.
“I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business. The only thing I could guess – I got no clue – is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don’t know.”
It is possible the helicopter’s main rotors struck the tail boom, breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free fall, Mr Green said.
“They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened,” Mr Green said. “There’s no indication they had any control over the craft. No pilot could have prevented that accident once they lost the lifts. It’s like a rock falling to the ground. It’s heartbreaking.”
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206, a model widely used in commercial and government aviation, including by sightseeing companies, TV news stations and police. It was initially developed for the US Army before being adapted for other uses. Thousands have been manufactured over the years.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate.
Where did the crash happen?
The crash happened on a stretch of the Hudson River, which separates Manhattan in New York City from New Jersey. The helicopter impacted the water closer to New Jersey, off the shore of Jersey City and Hoboken.
New York Police Department officials said emergency responders were gathered near Pier40 on the West Side Highway and Spring Street in Manhattan to coordinate the city’s response to the incident.
What has been the response from officials?
Mr Adams urged residents to avoid the area while the recovery operation and investigation got underway. “The team is on the scene at the heartbreaking and tragic crash in the Hudson River … Please avoid the area near Pier 40 in Manhattan in the meantime,” he said.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said he was aware of the disaster: “I have been briefed by law enforcement on the tragic helicopter crash in the Hudson River close to New Jersey. We are supporting the emergency response effort through the @NJSP, @PANYNJ, and local first responders.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul offered her assistance, adding: “I join all New Yorkers in praying for those we've lost and their families.”
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board said they were leading the investigation into the incident.
Donald Trump offered his condolences in a statement on Truth Social. The president wrote: “Terrible helicopter crash in the Hudson River. Looks like six people, the pilot, two adults, and three children, are no longer with us. The footage of the accident is horrendous. God bless the families and friends of the victims.”
He added: “Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, and his talented staff are on it. Announcements as to exactly what took place, and how, will be made shortly!”
Have there been similar incidents in the past?
The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads from which business executives and others are whisked to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.
At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977. A collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson in 2009 killed nine people, and five died in 2018 when a charter helicopter offering "open door" flights went down into the East River.
New York Helicopters also owned a Bell 206 that lost power and made an emergency landing on the Hudson during a sightseeing tour in June 2013. The pilot managed to land safely, and he and the passengers – a family of four Swedes – were uninjured. The National Transportation Safety Board found that a maintenance flub and an engine lubrication anomaly led to the power cutoff.
Thursday's crash was the first for a helicopter in the city since one hit the roof of a skyscraper in 2019, killing the pilot.
The accidents – and the noise caused by helicopters – have repeatedly led some community activists and officials to propose banning or restricting traffic at Manhattan heliports.
Other recent crashes and close calls have already left some people worried about the safety of flying in the U.S.
Seven people were killed when a medical transport plane plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood in January. That happened two days after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair in Washington in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation.
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