Divers utilizing sonar searched Friday for key items of a sightseeing helicopter that broke aside in midair and plunged into the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey. All six folks aboard have been killed — a household of 5 from Spain and the pilot, a 36-year-old U.S. Navy veteran.
The principle and rear rotors, foremost transmission, roof construction and tail construction have been nonetheless lacking a day after Thursday’s crash, Nationwide Transportation Security Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy stated. Witnesses stated they noticed the primary rotor detach and spin away, and bystander video confirmed components of the plane tumbling by the air.
Homendy stated investigators had solely simply begun trying on the wreckage, flight logs and different materials and wouldn’t speculate on the trigger. The company, which has been spared from the Trump administration’s job-cutting measures, deployed 17 folks to the crash scene, together with 10 investigators.
“Everything is on the table. We don’t rule anything out,” Homendy stated. “We take a very detailed and comprehensive view, and it’s way too early in the investigation.”
The helicopter crashed round 3:15 p.m. Thursday, about quarter-hour after departing from a decrease Manhattan heliport. It flew up the west facet of Manhattan, circled close to the George Washington Bridge and was heading south when it plummeted the wrong way up right into a shallow stretch of the river close to Jersey Metropolis, New Jersey.
The crash, the newest in a string of lethal incidents, has renewed debate in regards to the security and practicality of helicopter excursions in New York Metropolis’s busy airspace.
Victims embrace a household and a Navy vet
Simply earlier than takeoff, Agustin Escobar, his spouse, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three youngsters — Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10 — smiled in entrance of the helicopter in memento images posted to the tour operator’s web site.
Escobar, a 49-year-old govt with the German conglomerate Siemens, had prolonged a enterprise journey to the U.S. to sightsee in New York Metropolis and rejoice two household milestones: Mercedes’ ninth birthday, which might have been Friday, and his spouse’s upcoming fortieth birthday. Montal was an govt at Siemens Power, an organization that had been part of the conglomerate earlier than being spun off as a separate entity.
In a press release posted on the social platform X Friday evening by Montal’s brother, Joan Camprubí Montal, members of the family expressed gratitude for the “massive expressions of condolences and support,” including, “There are no words to describe what we are experiencing, nor to thank the warmth received.”
Writing in Spanish and in Catalan, Montal stated members of the family had traveled to New York to deal with preparations and requested folks to respect their privateness.
“These are very difficult times, but optimism and joy have always characterized our family. We want to keep the memory of a happy and united family, in the sweetest moment of their lives,” he stated. “They’ve departed collectively, leaving an indelible mark amongst all their relations, mates, and acquaintances.”
The pilot, Seankese Johnson, obtained his business pilot’s license in 2023, based on the Federal Aviation Administration, and had logged about 800 hours of flight time as of March, Homendy stated. Not too long ago, he posted a photograph on Fb of him piloting a helicopter with Manhattan within the background. In 2023, he posted that he was flying a firefighting helicopter.
“Long hours and painstaking work to get to this moment. Thank you for all the love and support from those who’ve helped me get here,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson transitioned to aviation after a profession within the Navy.
He enlisted in 2006 and served till 2018, reaching the rank of Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class, Protection Division information present. He was stationed on the plane service USS Ronald Reagan from 2007 to 2011 and in San Diego from 2011 to 2018, serving within the Particular Warfare Unit, the Particular Warfare Logistics Help Unit and the Coastal Riverine Squadron.
Officers name for air visitors restrictions
Thursday’s crash amplified calls from some neighborhood activists and public officers to ban or prohibit helicopter visitors round Manhattan. Greater than three dozen folks have been killed in helicopter crashes in New York Metropolis since 1977.
New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat, referred to as the crash a “reminder of our worst fears” and said “having nonessential flights over densely populated areas is a recipe for disaster.”
Jersey Metropolis Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat operating for governor of New Jersey, referred to as on the FAA to limit vacationer flights. Had the helicopter veered just a few hundred toes inland, it may need crashed right into a walkway, a playground or house buildings, he stated.
The Hudson crash is bringing recent scrutiny to the protection of personal helicopter flights round New York Metropolis. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reviews.
“It’s a very dangerous situation, and I think we need to be practical about it,” Fulop stated.
New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams, nevertheless, stated he would not wish to prohibit any flights till the investigation is full. He informed 1010 WINS radio: “Individuals wish to see town from the sky. On the coronary heart of that is security. It have to be accomplished proper.”
A helicopter business group additionally urged warning.
“Unfortunately, some well-meaning but misguided leaders are using this tragedy to exploit and push their decades-old agenda to ban all helicopters,” Jap Area Helicopter Council Chairman Jeff Smith stated in a press release.
A collision between a airplane and a vacationer helicopter over the Hudson in 2009 killed 9 folks, and 5 died in 2018 when a constitution helicopter providing “open door” flights went down into the East River.
Tour firm is ‘profoundly saddened’
The flight’s operator, New York Helicopter, stated in a press release Friday that it’s “profoundly saddened by the tragic accident and loss of life,” adding that the safety and well-being of passengers and crew “has always been the cornerstone of our operations.”
The corporate, considered one of a handful providing sightseeing flights within the Large Apple, had been beset by monetary issues lately. It emerged from chapter in 2022 and has confronted lawsuits for allegedly failing to pay its payments.
The corporate’s proprietor, Michael Roth, informed the New York Put up he was devastated and had “no clue” what occurred.
“The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,” the Put up quoted him as saying. He added that he had not seen something like this throughout his 30 years within the helicopter enterprise, however famous: “These are machines, and they break.”
Helicopter had upkeep problem final fall
The helicopter, a Bell 206 LongRanger IV, was inbuilt 2004.
In line with FAA information, it had a upkeep problem final September involving its transmission meeting.
An entry within the company’s Service Problem Reporting System reveals the transmission meeting had steel in oil, an indication of wear and tear, and a bearing within the transmission was discovered to be flaking.
The helicopter had logged 12,728 whole flight hours on the time, based on the information.
The NTSB stated its investigators wouldn’t speculate on a preliminary trigger on Thursday’s Hudson River crash of a sightseeing helicopter. Throughout a cease close to the Jersey Shore, the nation’s prime transportation official stated modifications are within the works. NBC New York’s Ted Greenberg reviews.
