Tragedy Over the Hudson: NYC Helicopter Breakup Kills Spanish Tourist Family, Pilot

NEW YORK (AP) — A sightseeing tour turned deadly Thursday afternoon when a helicopter carrying a Spanish family of five and their pilot broke apart mid-air and plunged into the Hudson River, marking one of New York City’s most harrowing aviation disasters in years.
Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the loss of all six passengers, including prominent Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children. The pilot, whose identity has not been released, also died in the crash.
The helicopter, operated by New York Helicopters, departed a Manhattan heliport at around 3 p.m., intending to offer breathtaking skyline views. But just 18 minutes into the flight, the joyride turned catastrophic. Witnesses in Jersey City, New Jersey, described a horrifying scene: the helicopter violently spinning, trailing smoke, with parts—including the rotor and tail—detaching in the sky before the fuselage slammed into the water upside-down.
“I saw it falling apart,” said eyewitness Bruce Wall. “The tail came off. The propeller was spinning on its own as the rest fell.” Residents nearby reported hearing what sounded like “gunshots” from the sky before seeing debris splash into the river.
Emergency teams were at the site within minutes, and the submerged wreckage was lifted from the river by a crane later that evening.
Photos posted to the company’s site showed the smiling family boarding the aircraft, completely unaware of the tragedy that lay ahead.
According to officials, the helicopter involved was a Bell 206, a widely used model in commercial aviation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have launched an investigation, with early speculation pointing to a catastrophic mechanical failure—possibly the main rotor striking the tail boom, causing total lift loss.
Aviation lawyer and former Marine Corps helicopter pilot Justin Green noted, “They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened… no pilot could have prevented that accident. It’s like a rock falling to the ground. It’s heartbreaking.”
The pilot had reportedly flown for decades without incident. But owner Michael Roth, devastated by the tragedy, admitted he had never witnessed a mid-air disintegration like this in over 30 years in the business. “These are machines, and they break,” he told reporters.
Agustin Escobar, a respected voice in rail infrastructure and sustainability, had spent over 27 years at Siemens. His wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, worked in global energy at Siemens Energy. Both were influential in their fields, widely traveled, and deeply respected by colleagues worldwide.
This marks the deadliest helicopter incident in New York since 2018, when five tourists died in an East River crash. The city’s aviation history has been marred by repeated accidents—at least 38 helicopter-related fatalities since 1977—sparking renewed calls to regulate or restrict heliport activity in densely populated areas like Manhattan.
Public frustration has also grown over the incessant noise and potential danger posed by low-flying helicopters, with activists now again demanding stricter regulations or outright bans on non-essential aerial tours.
The Hudson River crash comes amid a series of recent U.S. aviation scares, including a deadly medevac plane crash in Philadelphia and a catastrophic mid-air collision involving an American Airlines jet and Army helicopter in Washington earlier this year.
The tragedy has shaken the city and reignited debates over air safety, mechanical inspections, and the future of commercial helicopter tours in the nation’s busiest airspace.