New York City, April 11, 2025 – A devastating helicopter crash in the Hudson River claimed the lives of six people on Thursday, April 10, including a Spanish family of five and the pilot, marking one of the deadliest aviation incidents in New York City in recent years.
The victims were identified as Agustín Escobar, a senior executive at Siemens and CEO of rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, their three children aged 4, 8, and 10, and the pilot, Sean Johnson, a US Navy SEAL veteran.
The crash has reignited concerns over the safety of tourist helicopter flights in the city, prompting calls for stricter regulations.
The Bell 206 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, took off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at 2:59 p.m. ET (19:59 GMT) for a sightseeing tour over Manhattan.
According to New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the chopper flew north over the Hudson River, turned south near the George Washington Bridge, and crashed just minutes later at around 3:15 p.m. near Lower Manhattan, off the coast of Hoboken, New Jersey.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the helicopter break apart mid-air before plunging upside down into the river, with video footage showing a large object—later identified as part of the aircraft—falling into the water, followed by a helicopter blade. “It sounded like something was just breaking,” said Bruce Wall, an eyewitness who captured the incident on video. “The tail was a couple of feet back, and the blades were coming down as it hit the water.”
Dani Horbiak, a 29-year-old Jersey City resident, witnessed the crash from her window while working from home. “I saw the helicopter falling to pieces, and I watched multiple pieces splash down into the river below,” she told Reuters. “It was horrifying to realize what I was seeing.”
Emergency response was swift, with the first calls about the crash coming in at 3:17 p.m. ET (20:17 GMT). New York Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker reported that rescue boats were deployed immediately, and swimmers were in the water shortly after to search for survivors.
Despite their efforts, no survivors were found, and the helicopter was later recovered with only its landing gear visible above the water’s surface.
The family of five was visiting from Spain, with Agustín Escobar in the U.S. for a business trip before his family joined him for a few days in New York City, according to Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.
The 8-year-old child would have celebrated a birthday on Friday, April 11, adding to the heartbreak of the tragedy. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the crash “an unimaginable tragedy” and expressed his condolences to the victims’ families on X.
Siemens also released a statement, saying, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Agustín Escobar and his family. Our deepest condolences go out to all of his relatives.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) taking the lead, supported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy and her team arrived in New York on Thursday evening and planned a media briefing for Friday.
Early speculation points to a mechanical failure, with some experts suggesting mast bumping—a phenomenon in helicopters with teetering rotor systems like the Bell 206—as a possible cause. Mast bumping occurs when the rotor hub strikes the mast, often during low-G maneuvers, turbulence, or abrupt control inputs, potentially leading to rotor separation and catastrophic failure.
A former combat helicopter pilot, Jesse Matchey, appeared on News Nation and supported this theory, noting that video footage of the crash showed signs consistent with mast bumping.
This incident is the latest in a series of deadly helicopter crashes in New York City, raising renewed concerns about the safety of tourist flights.
Since 2005, five commercial sightseeing helicopters have crashed into the Hudson and East rivers due to mechanical failures, pilot errors, or collisions, resulting in 20 deaths. In 2018, a tourist helicopter crashed into the East River, killing all five passengers while the pilot survived.
In 2009, a helicopter carrying Italian tourists collided with a private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine. The Downtown Manhattan Heliport, where the doomed flight originated, sees nearly 30,000 tourist trips annually, according to the New York Comptroller’s Office.
The crash comes amid heightened scrutiny of helicopter safety in the U.S. Earlier this year, on January 29, a collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., killed 67 people, prompting the FAA to restrict helicopter traffic near that airport and launch a broader review of helicopter operations near major airports.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted that the helicopter was operating in a Special Flight Rules Area in New York, meaning no air traffic control services were provided at the time of the crash. The FAA has also initiated a Safety Review Team to examine the incident.
Longtime opponents of tourist helicopter flights in New York City have seized on the tragedy to renew calls for banning “nonessential” helicopter operations. “A helicopter ride giving a thrilling sweep of Manhattan’s iconic skyline has long been on the to-do list for New York City tourists of means,” an AP News report noted, but the risks associated with these flights are now under intense scrutiny. Flowers were placed at the end of a pier near the crash site on Friday, April 11, as a somber tribute to the lives lost.
Officials are working with the medical examiner to expedite the release of the victims’ bodies to Spain, where a brother-in-law of the family arrived on Friday to assist with arrangements. As the investigation continues, this tragedy has left a profound mark on both New York City and the international community, with many questioning whether the allure of aerial sightseeing is worth the potential cost.
