Divers search for parts after NYC helicopter crash killed a family of five and the pilot, a Navy vet
The Hindu
Helicopter crash in Hudson River kills six, including family of five from Spain, raising safety concerns.
Divers using sonar searched on Friday (April 11, 2025) for key pieces of a sightseeing helicopter that broke apart in midair and plunged into the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey. All six people aboard were killed – a family of five from Spain and the pilot, a 36-year-old U.S. Navy veteran.
The main and rear rotors, main transmission, roof structure and tail structure were still missing a day after Thursday’s (April 10, 2025) crash, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said. Witnesses said they saw the main rotor detach and spin away, and bystander video showed parts of the aircraft tumbling through the air.
Ms. Homendy said investigators had only just begun looking at the wreckage, flight logs and other material and would not speculate on the cause. The agency, which has been spared from the Trump administration’s job-cutting measures, deployed 17 people to the crash scene, including 10 investigators.
“Everything is on the table. We don’t rule anything out,” Ms. Homendy said. “We take a very detailed and comprehensive view, and it’s way too early in the investigation.”
The helicopter crashed around 3:15 p.m. on Thursday (April 10, 2025), about 15 minutes after departing from a lower Manhattan heliport. It flew up the west side of Manhattan, turned around near the George Washington Bridge and was heading south when it plummeted upside down into a shallow stretch of the river near Jersey City, New Jersey.
The crash, the latest in a string of deadly incidents, has renewed debate about the safety and practicality of helicopter tours in New York City’s busy airspace.
Just before take-off, Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three children – Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10 – smiled in front of the helicopter in souvenir photos posted to the tour operator’s website.
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