Tourist family, pilot killed after helicopter crashes in New York’s Hudson River

NEW YORK - Six people, including three children, were killed after a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York on April 10, sparking a major water rescue operation.

Everyone on board the tourist sightseeing trip – the pilot and a family from Spain – died.

“At this time, all six victims have been removed from the water. And, sadly, all six victims have been pronounced deceased,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams told a briefing, after earlier calling it a “heartbreaking and tragic crash”.

“Three adults and three children were on board a Bell 206 helicopter that had left from the downtown Skyport at just about 3pm (3am on April 11 in Singapore),” Mr Adams said.

Officials have yet to release the identities of the victims.

Germany’s Siemens said on April 11 that Mr Agustin Escobar, the company’s global CEO for its Rail Infrastructure division, was killed with his family in the crash.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Agustin Escobar and his family. Our deepest condolences go out to all of his relatives,” Siemens said.

New York City Police Department (NYPD) and New York City Fire Department (FDNY) divers raced to pull survivors from the wreckage, Mr Adams said.

A witness told AFP it appeared like the helicopter’s rotor blade “shattered in the sky”.

“And after it shattered, then we saw the helicopter just spiral... And then it just crashed into the water just like that,” said fashion designer Belle Angel.

Police commissioner Jessica Tisch said: “NYPD divers pulled four people from the crash site, and FDNY divers recovered an additional two. Immediate lifesaving measures were undertaken on the vessels at the scene, as well as the adjoining pier.

“Four victims were pronounced dead on scene, and two more were removed to local area hospitals, where, sadly, both succumbed to their injuries.”

The chopper took off around 3pm, flying south before heading up the Manhattan shoreline to the George Washington Bridge, turning back towards the downtown Manhattan heliport, losing control and hitting the water near a Hoboken pier, Ms Tisch said.

The police commissioner said the aircraft was operated by New York Helicopter, which did not respond to a request for comment.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement it was Bell 206 helicopter.

The chopper’s landing skids were seen protruding from the river beside a tunnel vent as several boats clustered around the impact site.

Police from both New York and New Jersey, which is on the opposite side of the river from Manhattan, were at the scene, along with fire department vessels.

The NBC4 channel reported that its own helicopter was unable to take off because of weather conditions, with the weather in New York on April 10 windy under thick cloud cover.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that it and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

US President Donald Trump took to social media to call the crash “terrible”.

“The footage of the accident is horrendous. God bless the families and friends of the victims,” he wrote on Truth Social.

‘Heartbreaking’

The river is a busy shipping channel, and the scene of a dramatic 2009 incident when a US Airways jet safely landed in the water.

All 155 people on board escaped with their lives in an event dubbed “Miracle on the Hudson”.

The river is as deep as 60m at points, and an AFP correspondent saw what appeared to be flotation devices deployed on the aircraft’s skids.

The average temperature of the river is 8 deg C at this time of year, according to the US Geological Survey.

Brooklyn Borough president Mark Levine told reporters that there have been around 30 helicopter crashes in New York since 1980, calling for tighter restrictions on helicopter traffic in the city. AFP