Siemens executive and family, pilot dead after helicopter crashes in Hudson River off Manhattan

A New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in mid-air Thursday and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River, killing the pilot and a family of Spanish tourists in the latest U.S. aviation disaster, officials said.

The victims included Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and three children, in addition to the pilot, a person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press. The person could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Other media outlets, including ABC News and the New York Times, were reporting the same information, citing law enforcement sources.

Early Friday, Siemens CEO Roland Busch confirmed in a social media post that Escobar had died.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend, Agustin Escobar, and his beloved family," said Busch. "Agustin was the CEO of rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Agustin's family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. We will miss him and his family immensely."

Photos posted on the helicopter company's website showed the couple and their children smiling as they boarded just before the flight took off.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the flight began at a downtown heliport around 3 p.m. local time and the dead — including three children — had been recovered and removed from the water. The flight north along the Manhattan skyline and then back south toward the Statue of Liberty lasted less than 18 minutes..

Video of the crash showed parts of the aircraft tumbling through the air into the water near the shoreline of Jersey City, N.J. A witness there, Bruce Wall, said he saw it "falling apart" in mid-air, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.

Dani Horbiak was at her Jersey City home when she heard what sounded like "several gunshots in a row, almost, in the air." She looked out her window and saw the chopper "splash in several pieces into the river."

The helicopter was spinning uncontrollably with "a bunch of smoke coming out" before it slammed into the water, said Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, N.J.

Rescue boats circled the submerged aircraft within minutes of impact near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel. Recovery crews hoisted the mangled helicopter out of the water just after 8 p.m. using a floating crane.

The flight was operated by New York Helicopters, officials said. No one answered the phones at the company's offices in New York and New Jersey.

A person who answered the phone at the home of the company's owner, Michael Roth, declined to comment. Roth told the New York Post he was devastated and had "no clue" why the crash happened.

"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 Post quoted him as saying. He added that he had not seen such a thing happen during his 30 years in the helicopter business, but noted: "These are machines, and they break."

Emails seeking comment were sent to attorneys who have represented Roth in the past.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified the helicopter as a Bell 206, a model widely used in commercial and government aviation, including by sightseeing companies, TV news stations and police departments.

It was initially developed for the U.S. army before being adapted for other uses. Thousands have been manufactured over the years.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it would investigate.

Video of the crash suggested a "catastrophic mechanical failure" left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter, said Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps.

It's possible the helicopter's main rotors struck the tail boom, breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free fall, Green said.

"They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened," Green said. "There's no indication they had any control over the craft. No pilot could have prevented that accident once they lost the lifts. It's like a rock falling to the ground. It's heartbreaking."

The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with both planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads that whisk business executives and others to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.

At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977. A collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson in 2009 killed nine people, and five died in 2018 when a charter helicopter offering "open door" flights went down into the East River.

Thursday's crash was the first for a helicopter in the city since one hit the roof of a skyscraper in 2019, killing the pilot.

The accidents — and the noise caused by helicopters — have repeatedly led some community activists and officials to propose banning or restricting traffic at Manhattan heliports.

Other recent crashes and close calls have already left some people worried about the safety of flying in the U.S.

Seven people were killed when a medical transport plane plummeted into a Philadelphia neighbourhood in January. That happened two days after an American Airlines jet and an army helicopter collided in mid-air in Washington, killing 67 — the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation.