NEW YORK — The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into what caused the crash of a sightseeing helicopter that careened into New York City’s Hudson River, killing all on board.
Six people — a mother, father, their three children and the pilot — were on board the aircraft when it went down on the New Jersey side of the Hudson near Hoboken on Thursday.
Four of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene. The two children were pronounced dead at Jersey City Medical Center.
The father was identified as Agustín Escobar, an executive from the German technology firm Siemens Mobility, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, as well as, the couple’s 4, 8 and 10-year-old children. They were visiting the city from Spain.
Escobar was the CEO of Rail Infrastructure at the Siemens transportation solutions division.
Montal was a team digital global manager at Siemens Energy.
The 8-year-old’s birthday was Friday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said the family was celebrating Montal’s 40th birthday while Escobar was in New York City for a business trip.
A little context + I’m sharing this bc life moves quick + we don’t always think about the fact it is unpredictable + extremely fragile. On the helicopter crash. The Husband was here for a business trip + the family flew out to extend the trip a couple days in NYC. They were… https://t.co/E22Y6fM3B3
— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) April 11, 2025
The pilot’s name has not been released.
The Bell 206 helicopter, flying for New York Helicopter tour company, left a downtown Manhattan Heliport at 2:59 p.m.
It was at the George Washington Bridge at 3:08 p.m., then traveled south along the New Jersey shore before losing control.
Officials said the helicopter appeared to be inverted when it crashed.
The flight had been airborne for about 16 minutes total.
The NTSB, which is the lead agency, and the Federal Aviation Administration are trying to figure out the cause.
Eyewitnesses said the helicopter flipped over and spiraled before crashing.
Visibility was 10 miles, but there were clouds and winds of 10 to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph.
CEO of New York Helicopter, Michael Roth, said, the pilot “called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive.”
The helicopter was built in 2004 and was deemed airworthy in 2016 with a certificate that was valid until 2029, FAA records said.
There were two FAA airworthiness directives for eight Bell 206L models, including one for the 206L-4, which this helicopter was.
One was issued in May 2023 that required testing and possible replacement of the rail rotor drive shafts after another Bell 206L had a loss of tail-rotor drive due to a joint failure.
A second directive issued in December 2022 required inspection and potential replacement of the main rotor blades because of “delamination,” or when the parts of the blade separate because of material fatigue, damage or manufacturing errors.
“The helicopter was a little bit like nose down, slightly, and I saw the propeller separating from the helicopter. It kept spinning in the air alone. Nothing was attached to it,” Sarah Jane Raymond Ryer said.
Video shows the rotor blades flying free from the helicopter before the incident.
“It sounded honestly like an engine came out. I looked outside my window. I saw a few people running towards the water, and some people were acting pretty normal. So, I was like, ‘It might not be anything.’ Then I started to hear all the sirens come outside,” Jenn Lynk said.
Correction: The children’s ages were first reported as 4,5, and 11.
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