The helicopter, operated by New York Helicopters, took off from Lower Manhattan at 3 p.m, on Thursday.
Just 15 minutes later, it fell down into the Hudson River.
Spiraling downward
A horrifying scene unfolded in Lower Manhattan on Thursday as countless onlookers witnessed what should have been a routine helicopter flight turn into a nightmare.
In a city where buzzing choppers are part of the everyday skyline, no one expected to see one spiraling out of control. But that’s exactly what happened. Shocked witnesses described the helicopter breaking apart mid-air before crashing into the Hudson River near Pier 40.
One described a horrifying scene, saying they saw the tourist helicopter “split in half” before crashing near Pier 40. One man reported that the doomed aircraft made a noise that sounded like a “sonic boom.”
”The helicopter was a little bit like nose down, slightly, and I saw the propeller separating from the helicopter. It kept spinning in the air alone. Nothing was attached to it,” witness Sarah Jane Raymond Ryer told CBS.
The aircraft, operated by local tour company New York Helicopter, had been in the air for 15 minutes before disaster struck. Social media videos show the helicopter spiraling downward without its rotors before ending up upside down in the water.
”NYPD divers pulled four people from the crash site, and FDNY divers recovered an additional two. Immediate lifesaving measures were undertaken on the vessels on 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,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Victims identified
It was later revealed that the passengers on board the helicopter were a family visiting from Spain. According to ABC News, they included Agustin Escobar, a high-ranking executive at Siemens, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children — ages 4, 5, and 11.
In 2022, Escobar was appointed as an executive for Siemens’ division in Spain and Southwest Europe, as stated in a press release from the technology conglomerate.
Miguel Ángel López, the former head of Siemens’ Spanish division, praised Escobar’s contributions in the release,emphasizing that his efforts were ”key” to the company’s success.
“With Agustín Escobar, we have the best possible successor to lead, from now on, the company in Spain. In recent years his work has been key to Siemens’ success in the field of mobility and transport,” López said.
