Six people, including the head of the Spanish branch of Siemens and his family, were killed when a tourist helicopter crashed in New Jersey on Thursday. The tragedy occurred during a sightseeing flight over the Hudson River, near Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
On Thursday, 10 April, at approximately 3:15 p.m. local time, a helicopter crash occurred near Jersey City, New Jersey. Tourist helicopter Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV, making a sightseeing flight over the water area of New York, crashed and crashed into the waters of the Hudson River near the Statue of Liberty.
Six people were on board – the pilot and five passengers, all of them died. Among the victims were the head of the Spanish branch of the German concern Siemens Agustin Escobar, his wife and three children, American media reported. The identity of the pilot has not yet been officially confirmed.
According to eyewitnesses, the helicopter behaved unstably: it rocked, it abruptly changed course, then turned over in the air. Before the collision with the water flew off the tail rotor and parts of the blades. The machine collapsed almost vertically and quickly went under water.
New York City Fire Department boats, Coast Guard and police units arrived at the scene. NYPD divers and FDNY rescuers worked in low water temperatures (about 10°C) and strong currents. All bodies were recovered within two hours. Four passengers died at the scene, two died a little later at the hospital, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The helicopter was on a short 15-minute sightseeing flight over Manhattan. It was the sixth flight of that vehicle in a day.
The Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV is a twin-bladed, slight helicopter designed to carry up to seven people, including the pilot. It is popular in tourist aviation because of its manoeuvrability and low operating costs. However, the model has had dozens of incidents involving equipment failures and weather conditions over the years.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the deaths of all six people. The New York Post and ABC News, citing law enforcement sources, reported that among the dead were Agustin Escobar, president and CEO of the Spanish division of Siemens. With him were his wife Merce Camprubi Montal and three children aged 4, 5 and 11.
US President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the families of the victims on his social network Truth Social. He said Transport Secretary Sean Duffy was personally overseeing the investigation and called for transparency in the outcome.
