A family of five Spanish tourists and a pilot were killed when a helicopter broke apart in mid-air and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River in New York, officials said.
The victims included Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and three children, in addition to the pilot, according to The Associated Press (AP).
In a statement on Friday, Germany’s Siemens confirmed that Agustin Escobar, the company’s global CEO for its Rail Infrastructure division, was killed with his family in a New York helicopter crash on Thursday.
“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.
The person briefed on the investigation spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
New York mayor Eric Adams said the flight began at a downtown heliport around 3pm, and the dead, including three children, had been recovered and removed from the water.
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The flight, which took the aircraft north along the Manhattan skyline and then back south toward the Statue of Liberty, lasted less than 18 minutes.
Witness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in mid-air, with the tail and propeller coming off.
Dani Horbiak was at her home in Jersey City, New Jersey, when she heard what sounded like “several gunshots in a row, almost, in the air”.
She looked out her window and saw the chopper “splash in several pieces into the river”.
The helicopter was spinning uncontrollably with “a bunch of smoke coming out” before it slammed into the water, said Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Video of the crash showed parts of the chopper tumbling through the air into the water.
The overturned aircraft was submerged, with rescue boats circling it, near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side of the river.
The flight was operated by New York Helicopters, officials said.
No one answered the phones at the company’s offices in New York and New Jersey.
A person who answered the phone at the home of the company’s owner, Michael Roth, declined to comment.
However, Mr Roth told the New York Post he was devastated and had “no clue” why the crash happened.
“The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,” the Post quoted him as saying.
He added that he had not seen such a thing happen during his 30 years in the helicopter business, but noted: “These are machines, and they break”.
Emails seeking comment were sent to lawyers who have represented Mr Roth in the past.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206, a model widely used in commercial and government aviation, including by sightseeing companies, TV news stations and police.
It was initially developed for the US Army before being adapted for other uses. Thousands have been manufactured over the years.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate.
Video of the crash suggested that a “catastrophic mechanical failure” left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter, said Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps.
It is possible the helicopter’s main rotors struck the tail boom, breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free-fall, Mr Green said.
“They were dead as soon as whatever happened, happened,” Mr Green 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.”
The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights.
Manhattan has several helipads from which business executives and others are whisked to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.
Thursday’s crash was the first for a helicopter in the city since one hit the roof of a skyscraper in 2019, killing the pilot.
At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977. - AP
