A tourist helicopter crashed upside down into the Hudson River in New York City on Thursday, killing all six people aboard, including a Spanish family with three children and the pilot. Among the victims was Agustin Escobar, the CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, a division of the German technology company Siemens, according to a company spokesperson.
A video of the crash showed what seemed to be a large object falling into the river, followed by a helicopter blade. Emergency and police boats were seen circling the area where the helicopter sank, with only the landing gear visible above the water’s surface.
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The Bell 206 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, took off at around 3 p.m. ET from a downtown pad, flying north over the Hudson River. Upon reaching the George Washington Bridge, it turned south and crashed minutes later near Lower Manhattan, just off Hoboken, New Jersey, around 3:15 p.m.
Dani Horbiak, a Jersey City resident, witnessed the crash from her window while working from home. She described seeing the helicopter break apart and pieces splash into the river. Horbiak, shaken by the incident, contacted emergency services, who confirmed that responders were already on their way.
Divers recovered the victims from the water, with four pronounced dead at the scene and the remaining two dying in hospitals. The airspace around Manhattan is crowded with sightseeing helicopters, with New York Helicopter Tours offering flights for as little as $114 per person. The company did not immediately comment on the crash.
The helicopter was flying in a Special Flight Rules Area, meaning no air traffic control services were provided. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the incident, with the NTSB taking the lead. The FAA is also reviewing helicopter safety after similar past incidents, including the 2018 crash in the East River that claimed five lives.
