Profile
Sections
Local
tv
Featured
More From NBC
Follow NBC News
news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
A family of five visiting from Spain and the pilot were killed when what was meant to be a helicopter joyride over Manhattan to celebrate a birthday careened into tragedy Thursday afternoon.
Overnight, authorities worked to recover the wreckage from the murky depths of the waters, as questions remain about what caused the crash in which the chopper appeared to suddenly break apart in midair and plunge upside down into the Hudson River.
Here’s what we know so far:
The Bell 206 sightseeing helicopter departed from a Wall Street heliport at 2:59 p.m. Thursday, flew south, then turned to fly north along the Manhattan shoreline up the Hudson River.
At 3:08 p.m., the helicopter reached the George Washington Bridge, then turned to fly south along the New Jersey shoreline. Shortly after, the “aircraft lost control and hit the water just a few feet off the coast of the pier, a park in Hoboken,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a press conference Thursday.
Around 3:17 p.m., 911 calls came in reporting a helicopter crash in the Hudson River near the New Jersey coastline, off the coast of Hoboken.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a press conference Thursday that all six victims — including three children — were pulled from the water and pronounced dead.
Video footage of the crash showed the heart-stopping moment the chopper appeared to break apart and fall inverted into the Hudson. The rotor blades of the helicopter fell into the water separately.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud noise reminiscent of something breaking and engine failure.
Officials said the helicopter was operated by the tour company New York Helicopters.
Michael Roth, the CEO of New York Helicopter Tours, told The Telegraph that the pilot had said he needed fuel before the crash.
“He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about 3 minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,” Roth told the paper, adding, “We’re all devastated.”
Skyport, one of the firms that manage the heliport from where the chopper departed, told NBC News: “We are deeply saddened by the tragedy on the Hudson River earlier today involving New York Helicopter, a company who operates out of our facility.”
“Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all those impacted by this horrible incident. We are cooperating with all of the appropriate agencies and thank all of the first responders for their efforts,” Skyport added.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday sightseeing helicopter tours need to be looked into. He said the airspace the helicopter was flying in is not controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“I think it needs a comprehensive review. And it’s not just New York, it’s the Grand Canyon, it’s Las Vegas. There is a lot of cities around the country that have these helicopter tours and I want to make sure that we have a holistic review to make sure it’s done safely,” he said.
A married couple from Spain, Agustín Escobar and Merce Camprubi Montal, were identified as two of the adult victims who died in the crash.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed that the couple and their three children died in the helicopter crash.
Escobar was a senior executive with the German technology firm Siemens and was the CEO of rail infrastructure at its Siemens Mobility Division. Previously, he was the CEO and president of Siemens Spain, according to a company announcement.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustin Escobar and his family lost their lives. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all their loved ones,” a spokesperson with Siemens AG said.
Montal was celebrating her 40th birthday at the time of the crash, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said on X.
Fulop explained that Escobar was in town for a business trip and his family flew out to extend the trip and spend a couple of days in New York City. He said the family took the tourist flight in honor of Montal’s birthday, along with the kids.
Mayor Eric Adams said Friday morning on Fox5’s “Good Day New York” the kids ages were 4, 8 and 10. The Jersey City Mayor’s office told NBC News that the 8-year-old would have been celebrating a birthday on Friday.
A senior New York City official told NBC New York the third adult victim was the pilot, Sean Johnson. Johnson was 36-years-old according to the Jersey City Mayor’s office.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash. Its cause is not immediately clear.
A recovery effort was underway Thursday into Friday to pull pieces of the downed helicopter from the river. The main body of the aircraft was recovered, Fulop said on X.
Divers on Saturday were still recovering pieces of the chopper from the Hudson as investigators evaluated the helicopter’s flight control system, the NTSB said.
The helicopter was not equipped with any flight recorders, the agency said.
It had last been inspected on March 1 and completed seven tour flights earlier Thursday. The accident took place during the aircraft’s eighth flight of the day, according to the NTSB.
NBC aviation analyst Jeff Guzzetti said on NBC’s “TODAY” show on Friday that weather doesn’t appear to be a factor, although there were some gusts and wind in the area.
“There was some sort of sudden inflight failure that occurred to the point where the pilot didn’t have an opportunity to make a forced landing or a mayday call, so something happened abruptly,” he said.
“We’re looking at some sort of hardware issue that perhaps could have been prompted by an inappropriate pilot response, which could have been prompted by something like a bird strike. We just don’t know yet,” he said.
Guzzetti noted the incident has the marks of mast bumping — when the rotor hub strikes the main rotor mast — but the wreckage needs to be combed over to confirm.
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC