A Spanish family preparing to celebrate a child’s ninth birthday was killed when their sightseeing helicopter broke apart mid-air and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, claiming all six lives on board in a tragic aviation accident, officials confirmed, reports Breaking News.
The National Transportation Safety Board and other authorities are investigating the crash, which occurred Thursday afternoon.
As of Friday morning, no further details had been released regarding the potential cause.
Among the victims were Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, who held a global managerial role in an energy technology company, and their three children. The pilot also died, according to a source familiar with the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press, reports Breaking News.
The helicopter’s owner, New York Helicopter, released a statement expressing deep sorrow over the crash and directed media inquiries to investigators.
“The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew has always been the cornerstone of our operations,” the statement read.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that the children were aged four, eight, and ten, and that the eight-year-old’s birthday was on Friday, reports Breaking News.
“This was likely part of a typical tourist activity to view the city skyline,” Adams told Fox 5 New York. “It’s a terribly unfortunate event, and our hearts go out to the family,” reports Breaking News.
Steven Fulop, mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, said Mr Escobar had traveled to New York on business, and his family had joined him to extend the trip. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he noted that a relative was expected to arrive on Friday and that officials were assisting with the release of the bodies for repatriation to Spain.
Fulop added that dive teams would return to the Hudson River on Friday to continue recovering major parts of the wreckage.
Photos shared on the helicopter company’s website showed the family smiling just before the ill-fated flight began, reports Breaking News.
The helicopter took off from a downtown heliport around 3pm and was in the air for less than 18 minutes.
Radar tracking indicated the flight traveled north along Manhattan’s skyline before heading south toward the Statue of Liberty, reports Breaking News.
Footage of the incident showed parts of the helicopter breaking off and falling into the river near Jersey City’s shoreline.
Rescue boats arrived swiftly and circled the submerged wreckage near the end of a long maintenance pier used for a ventilation tower at the Holland Tunnel.
A floating crane recovered the heavily damaged helicopter from the river just after 8pm.
Mayor Adams confirmed the bodies were also recovered from the water, reports Breaking News.
Officials stated that the flight was operated by New York Helicopters.
Attempts to contact the company’s offices in New York and New Jersey were unsuccessful, with no one answering the phone, reports Breaking News.
At the residence of company owner Michael Roth, someone said he declined to comment.
Roth later told the New York Post that he was devastated and unsure why the crash occurred.
“I saw a video of the helicopter going down, and the main rotor blades weren’t on it,” he reportedly said. He noted that in his 30 years in the helicopter business, he had never seen anything like it before, but added, “These are machines, and they break,” reports Breaking News.
Emails seeking comments were sent to legal representatives who have worked with Roth in the past.
The helicopter involved was identified by the Federal Aviation Administration as a Bell 206, a model commonly used in commercial, media, and law enforcement aviation, reports Breaking News.
Originally developed for the U.S. Army, the Bell 206 has since been adapted for civilian use and produced in large numbers.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it will lead the investigation, reports Breaking News.
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