The New York City helicopter that plunged into the frigid waters of the Hudson River, killing all six people onboard, had experienced mechanical issues months before breaking apart midair.
Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, was killed alongside his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, their three children and the pilot when their sightseeing chopper tragically plummeted about 25 minutes into the tour on Thursday afternoon.
An investigation is currently underway to determine what caused the doomed Bell206L-4 LongRanger IV aircraft – owned and operated by New York Helicopter – to suddenly drop out of the sky.
However, data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showed the ill-fated aircraft experienced a mechanical issue, particularly with its transmission assembly, back in September, the New York Post reported.
Built in 2004, the chopper had flown more than 12,000 hours before needing repairs.
The investigation aims to examine the pilot’s background, the partially recovered wreckage and the Manhattan-based company responsible for operating the sightseeing tours, in hopes of uncovering what happened in the aircraft’s final moments.
Investigators will also explore the maintenance history of the crashed helicopter, focusing on whether two recently issued FAA safety airworthiness orders for Bell 206L models were properly followed.
The first directive, issued in December 2022, required inspections – and, if needed, replacements – of the models’ main rotor blades due to a problem called ‘delamination’.
The New York City helicopter that plunged into the frigid waters of the Hudson River, killing all six people onboard – including a family traveling from Spain – had experienced mechanical issues months before breaking apart midair
Pictured: Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, who was killed alongside his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal and their three children
Built in 2004, the chopper had flown more than 12,000 hours before needing repairs in September. An investigation will explore the maintenance history of the crashed helicopter, focusing on whether two recently issued FAA safety airworthiness orders for Bell 206L models were properly followed (pictured: Bell 206L model in September)
Delamination – or when the internal layers of the blade begin to separate from the aircraft because of wear, damage or defects – could lead to failure of the rotor blade if left unaddressed.
A second directive was issued in May 2023 after a helicopter experienced the loss of its tail-rotor drive – the smaller rotor mounted at the tail – due to a joint failure.
The agency’s directive mandated testing and possible replacement of tail rotor shafts across eight helicopter models, including the one involved in Thursday’s fatal crash.
However, the rotors on the ill-fated helicopter remain missing in the Hudson River, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said on Friday.
Divers from the New York Police Department have since been searching for several mangled pieces of the aircraft, crucial to understanding the cause of its devastating downfall.
In June 2013, four Swedish tourists and the pilot, sightseeing with the same tour company, were forced to crash land in the same murky waters of the Hudson after the aircraft lost power.
Miraculously, all four family members along with the pilot survived the terrifying water collision.
Michael Roth, the company’s CEO, stated that the chopper underwent daily routine inspections at the time of the crash, but admitted that he had ‘no clue why’ the aircraft malfunctioned during the flight, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.
Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, was killed alongside his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, their three young children and the pilot when their sightseeing chopper tragically plummeted into the Hudson River about 25 minutes into the tour Thursday afternoon
An investigation has since been underway to determine what caused the doomed Bell206L-4 LongRanger IV aircraft – owned and operated by New York Helicopter – to suddenly drop out of the sky, including examining the pilot’s background, the partially recovered wreckage (pictured: separate helicopter owned by the company)
Agustin Escober, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three young children – Augustin, 10, Mercedes, 8, and Victor, 4 – were on vacation to celebrate the birthday of one of their daughters, who would have turned nine on Saturday
The first directive, issued in December 2022, required inspections – and, if needed, replacements – of the models’ main rotor blades due to a problem called ‘delamination’ – or when the internal layers of the blade begin to separate from the aircraft because of wear, damage or defects – but the rotors on the ill-fated helicopter remain missing in the Hudson
Michael Roth, the CEO of New York Helicopters, admitted he has ‘no clue’ what happened, stating that: ‘The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, is that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter’
More than a decade and another crash later, Roth is still unsure as to what could have happened.
‘I’m absolutely devastated,’ Roth told The New York Post after Thursday’s deadly crash.
‘The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, is that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,’ he added. ‘And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business.’
‘The only thing I could guess… I got no clue… is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don’t know.’
Agustin Escober, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three young children -Augustin, 10, Mercedes, 8, and Victor, 4 – had just arrived to the Big Apple from Barcelona hours before the deadly crash.
The family-of-five were on vacation to celebrate the birthday of one of their daughters, who would have turned nine on Saturday, according to Spanish outlet Antena3.
Their first day in New York was planned around sightseeing, including a scenic helicopter tour of the Statue of Liberty and up to the George Washington Bridge.
Flown by 36-year-old Sean Johnson – a Navy SEAL veteran who recently moved to New York for his still-young aviation career – the excited family snapped heartbreaking photos on the helipad and inside the helicopter just moments before takeoff.
The doomed helicopter was flown by 36-year-old Sean Johnson – a Navy SEAL veteran who recently moved to New York for his still-young aviation career (pictured)
A second directive, issued by the FAA in May of 2023, mandated testing and possible replacement of tail rotor shafts – the smaller rotor mounted at the tail – across eight helicopter models, including the one involved in Thursday’s fatal crash (pictured: stock photo of tail rotor shaft)
The excited family snapped heartbreaking photos on the helipad and inside the helicopter just moments before takeoff
After approximately 25 minutes in the air, the chopper tragically plummeted upside-down into the Hudson River, closer to the New Jersey side, before sinking into the water – all with its fully detached rotor blade trailing behind
The helicopter flew out from the Wall Street Heliport and did a circle near the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge at about 1,000 feet.
After approximately 25 minutes in the air, the chopper tragically plummeted upside-down into the Hudson River, closer to the New Jersey side, before sinking into the water – all with its fully detached rotor blade trailing behind.
Witnesses said they saw the chopper ‘split in half’ before it went down near Pier 40, with one man reporting the stricken aircraft making what sounded like a ‘sonic boom.’
‘Oh my God. Oh my gosh. Oh my goodness. Oh my gosh,’ said a terrified witness who watched the helicopter fall into the river.
Julian Bray, an aviation expert, suggested that a faulty ‘Jesus nut’ – which holds the entire rotor system together – could have been the key factor behind the tragedy.
The faulty ‘Jesus nut’ would have caused the helicopter blades to break free from the rotor while still in motion, according to Bray.
As it detached, the spinning blades would then have ripped through the body of the chopper before it crashed into the water below, he told The Sun.
‘What appears to have happened with this particular helicopter is that the rotor, the main rotor… had detached, because in one video we see the blades spinning away from the helicopter,’ he explained.
Witnesses said they saw the chopper ‘split in half’ before it went down near Pier 40, with one man reporting the stricken aircraft making what sounded like a ‘sonic boom’
Loved ones shared that they would be traveling to New York to bring the victims’ bodies home, expressing that they have found ‘solace’ in knowing that the young family ‘passed away together’
The family had just arrived from Barcelona earlier that day, and had plans to go sightseeing on their first day in the Big Apple, including a scenic helicopter tour of the Statue of Liberty and up to the George Washington Bridge
Four people onboard the helicopter were pronounced dead at the scene, with the two others later passing away in the hospital
‘But this appears to have sliced through the back half of the helicopter, so the fuselage then drops like a stone into the river Hudson right opposite Pier 41.’
‘There is a particular procedure which has to be checked every time it’s serviced, and it’s known as the Jesus Bolt… because without that the whole thing falls apart,’ he added.
‘It looks as though it’s [the] Jesus bolt or Jesus PIN… It’s either defective or wasn’t tightened up, or for some reason it sheared.’
Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps, said that a ‘catastrophic mechanical failure’ left the pilot no chance to save the helicopter.
It’s possible that the helicopter’s main rotors struck the tail boom, ultimately breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free fall, Green explained.
‘They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened,’ he 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.’
It was also revealed that the helicopter’s pilot radioed base to warn that they were running out of fuel just before the tragedy struck.
Harrowing photos show the bottom of the helicopter floating upside down in the frigid waters of the Hudson after Thursday’s crash
It was also revealed that the helicopter’s pilot radioed base to warn that they were running out of fuel just before the tragedy struck (pictured: Sean Johnson)
Divers from the New York Police Department have since been searching for several mangled pieces of the aircraft, crucial to understanding the cause of its devastating downfall
‘He called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,’ 71-year-old Roth, owner of New York Helicopters, told The Telegraph.
Four people onboard the helicopter were pronounced dead at the scene, with the two others later passing away in the hospital, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at the time.
Loved ones shared that they would be traveling to New York to bring the victims’ bodies home, expressing that they have found ‘solace’ in knowing that the young family ‘passed away together’.
