A helicopter that crashed killing a family of five and the pilot in New York had been used in a safety inspection video by the aircraft’s operator. The New York City sightseeing helicopter, a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV broke apart and crashed into the Hudson River near the New Jersey shoreline last Thursday.
Pieces of the aircraft could be seen floating in the river on Friday as divers searched for clues about what caused the tragedy with the US’ National Transportation Safety Board investigating. It’s the latest in a series of recent aircraft crashes and close calls that have left some people worried about the safety of flying in the US.
New York Helicopter was the company which offered the 20 minute tourist trip for Spanish family Agustin Escobar, 49, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39, and their three children, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10.
Mercedes would have turned nine on Friday, officials said. And it has now emerged that the helicopter which was seen break apart as it full into the Hudson River had been used in a promotional video for the company where its safety record was highlighted. On the company website under the section ‘Why Choose Us’ it states: “We have an industry-leading safety record.”
In the last eight years, the New York Helicopter has been through a bankruptcy and faces ongoing lawsuits over alleged debts. In 2013, one of the company’s helicopters suddenly lost power in mid-air, and the pilot manoeuvred it to a safe landing on pontoons in the Hudson.
FAA data shows the helicopter that crashed on Thursday was built in 2004. And the helicopter had a maintenance issue last September involving its transmission assembly. The helicopter had logged 12,728 total flight hours at the time, according to the records.
Witnesses described seeing the helicopter’s tail and main rotor breaking away and smoke pouring from the spinning chopper before it slammed into the water.
The helicopter took off from a downtown heliport at around 3pm and flew north along the Manhattan skyline before heading south toward the Statue of Liberty. Less than 18 minutes into the flight, parts of the aircraft were seen tumbling into the water.
Rescue boats circled the submerged aircraft within minutes of impact, and recovery crews hoisted the mangled helicopter out of the water just after 8pm using a floating crane. The bodies were also recovered from the river, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
Mr Escobar, an executive at Siemens, was in the New York area on business, and his family flew in to meet him for a few days. Photos on the helicopter company’s website show the couple and their children smiling just before taking off.
In a statement posted on the social platform X on Friday night by Joan Camprubí Montal, Montal’s brother, family members said there were “no words to describe” what they are experiencing.
The pilot was Seankese Johnson, 36, a US Navy veteran who received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023. He had logged about 800 hours of flight time as of March, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters Friday.
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