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Spanish PM offers condolences after family of five killed in New York helicopter crash Search resumes for parts of helicopter that ‘fell into pieces’ killing six people in New York
(about 3 hours later)
Spanish family including three children age 11, five and four killed in crash along with pilot, who has not yet been namedSpanish family including three children age 11, five and four killed in crash along with pilot, who has not yet been named
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has offered his condolences to friends and relatives of a Spanish family who died in New York on Thursday after their sightseeing helicopter crashed in the Hudson River, killing all onboard including the pilot. Divers returned to New York’s Hudson River on Friday morning to salvage sections of a tourist helicopter that crashed on Thursday killing all six people on board, as witnesses spoke of hearing sounds “like gunshots” immediately before the aircraft plummeted.
It emerged on Friday that the victims were Agustín Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí, and their three children, who were 11, five and four. The identity of the pilot has not yet been made public. A recovery operation that was suspended overnight began again at first light to retrieve what Jersey City mayor Steve Fulop said were “major parts” of the Bell 206 helicopter that broke apart in midair and plunged into the water.
The sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside down into the Hudson between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront shortly after 3pm local time (2000 BST), leading to a huge response from emergency crews. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, earlier offered his condolences to friends and relatives of a Spanish family killed along with the pilot.
Videos posted on social media showed the aircraft mostly submerged, upside down in the water, and rescue vehicles crowding on to the streets on shore as emergency workers raced to save those onboard. The victims were identified as Agustín Escobar, an executive of the technology company Siemens, his wife, Mercè Camprubí, who was celebrating her 40th birthday, and their three children aged 11, five and four. The pilot has not yet been publicly named.
Videos posted on social media captured large chunks of the helicopter, including rotor blades spinning independently of the fuselage, falling from the sky and splashing into the river on Thursday afternoon, not long after the tourist flight had taken off from a popular heliport at the tip of Manhattan.
Other footage showed the aircraft mostly submerged, upside down in the water, and rescue vehicles crowding the streets in New Jersey as emergency workers raced in.
The Hudson River divides the west side of Manhattan from New Jersey and flows into the New York Harbor past the Statue of Liberty. The weather on Thursday afternoon featured grey skies, light winds and cold rain.
On Friday, witnesses spoke of the shocking moments shortly after 3pm when the sightseeing helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, broke into pieces about 18 minutes into flight.
“I heard very loud sounds, I thought it had to be gunshots, it was that level loud,” Dani Horbiak told ABC’s Good Morning America.
“When I looked out my window I saw a helicopter falling into pieces. It all happened in seconds.”
Another witness, Bruce Wall, said he also saw the helicopter breaking up in flight.
“I heard some crackling, looked up, and I just see a plane falling apart,” he said. “The tail broke off and the plane tumbled into the water with the propeller still in the air.”
Sean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, said officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were on site and leading the investigation, and that the aircraft was not being monitored on the ground at the time.
“The tour helicopter was in the special flight rules area established in New York which means no air traffic control services were being provided when the helicopter crashed,” he said.
Tributes were paid in Spain to Escobar, 49, chief executive of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, and his family, who were enjoying a sightseeing excursion of New York City.
“We have had devastating news about the helicopter accident in the River Hudson,” Sánchez posted in a message on X on Friday. “Five Spaniards from the same family, three of them children, lost their lives along with the pilot. It’s an unimaginable tragedy. I share the pain of the victims’ loved ones in this heartbreaking moment.”“We have had devastating news about the helicopter accident in the River Hudson,” Sánchez posted in a message on X on Friday. “Five Spaniards from the same family, three of them children, lost their lives along with the pilot. It’s an unimaginable tragedy. I share the pain of the victims’ loved ones in this heartbreaking moment.”
Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, also paid tribute, saying: “Reading with horror that the victims of the awful helicopter accident in the US were Agustín Escobar and his family. I met him over the past year in his capacity at Siemens Spain. He was a charming, hard-working and talented person.” Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, said : “Reading with horror that the victims of the awful helicopter accident in the US were Agustín Escobar and his family. I met him over the past year in his capacity at Siemens Spain. He was a charming, hard-working and talented person.”
The German industrial conglomerate Siemens later confirmed that Escobar worked for the company as head of rail infrastructure at its mobility division.The German industrial conglomerate Siemens later confirmed that Escobar worked for the company as head of rail infrastructure at its mobility division.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustín Escobar and his family lost their lives,” Siemens said in a statement.“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustín Escobar and his family lost their lives,” Siemens said in a statement.
A person briefed on the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press (AP) that Camprubí was a global manager at an energy technology company.A person briefed on the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press (AP) that Camprubí was a global manager at an energy technology company.
The New York mayor, Eric Adams, confirmed six people had been pronounced dead, including three children and three adults. Fulop said in a post to X on Friday that Escobar was in New York for work, and his family joined him for some leisure time.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday evening, Adams said his thoughts were with the crash victims and their families. An investigation into the cause of the accident was continuing, he said. “I’m sharing this because life moves quick and we don’t always think about the fact it is unpredictable and extremely fragile,” he wrote.
Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner, said most of the passengers were already dead when they were removed from the water, but two passengers were taken to a nearby hospital, where they died soon after. “The husband was here for a business trip and the family flew out to extend the trip a couple days in NYC. They were celebrating the mom’s 40th birthday with the tourist helicopter flight.”
Tisch said the Bell 206 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, took off from a downtown helicopter pad at about 3pm and flew north over the Hudson. It turned south when it reached the George Washington Bridge and crashed minutes later, hitting the water upside down and sinking near Lower Manhattan about 3.15pm, just off Hoboken, New Jersey. Fulop said a relative was arriving from Spain on Friday to take home the family members’ remains.
Witness Bruce Wall told the AP he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said. Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner, said most of the passengers were already dead when they were removed from the water, but two were taken to a nearby hospital, where they died soon after.
Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, said she had seen the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water. Tisch said the helicopter took off from a downtown helicopter pad at about 3pm and flew north over the Hudson. It turned south when it reached the George Washington Bridge and crashed minutes later, hitting the water upside down and sinking near Lower Manhattan about 3.15pm, just off Hoboken, New Jersey.
Experts said investigators will likely focus on catastrophic mechanical failure as a cause of the tragedy.
Justin Green, an aviation lawyer and former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, told the AP: “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.”
The agency said 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.
The spot where the helicopter crashed Thursday is less than three miles (4.8km) south of where US Airways Captain Chesley Sullenberger expertly landed the passenger plane he was piloting, on the water, with no lives lost, after the engines were put out in a bird strike after takeoff from nearby LaGuardia airport.
The 2009 incident became known as “the miracle on the Hudson”.