Divers search for parts after NYC helicopter crash killed a family of five and the pilot, a Navy vet

NEW YORK (AP) — Divers using sonar searched Friday for key pieces of a sightseeing helicopter that broke apart in midair and plunged into the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey. All six people aboard were killed — a family of five from Spain and the pilot, a 36-year-old U.S. Navy veteran.

The main and rear rotors, main transmission, roof structure and tail structure were still missing a day after Thursday’s crash, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said. Witnesses said they saw the main rotor detach and spin away, and bystander video showed parts of the aircraft tumbling through the air.

Homendy said investigators had only just begun looking at the wreckage, flight logs and other material and would not speculate on the cause. The agency, which has been spared from the Trump administration’s job-cutting measures, deployed 17 people to the crash scene, including 10 investigators.

“Everything is on the table. We don’t rule anything out,” Homendy said. “We take a very detailed and comprehensive view, and it’s way too early in the investigation.”

The helicopter crashed around 3:15 p.m. Thursday, about 15 minutes after departing from a lower Manhattan heliport. It flew up the west side of Manhattan, turned around near the George Washington Bridge and was heading south when it plummeted upside down into a shallow stretch of the river near Jersey City, New Jersey.

The crash, the latest in a string of deadly incidents, has renewed debate about the safety and practicality of helicopter tours in New York City’s busy airspace.

Victims include a family and a Navy vet

Just before takeoff, Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three children — Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10 — smiled in front of the helicopter in souvenir photos posted to the tour operator’s website.

Escobar, a 49-year-old executive with the German conglomerate Siemens, had extended a business trip to the U.S. to sightsee in New York City and celebrate two family milestones: Mercedes’ 9th birthday, which would have been Friday, and his wife’s upcoming 40th birthday. Montal was an executive at Siemens Energy, a company that had been a part of the conglomerate before being spun off as a separate entity.

In a statement posted on the social platform X Friday night by Montal’s brother, Joan Camprubí Montal, family members expressed gratitude for the “massive expressions of condolences and support,” adding, “There are no words to describe what we are experiencing, nor to thank the warmth received.”

Writing in Spanish and in Catalan, Montal said family members had traveled to New York to handle arrangements and asked people to respect their privacy.

“These are very difficult times, but optimism and joy have always characterized our family. We want to keep the memory of a happy and united family, in the sweetest moment of their lives,” he said. “They have departed together, leaving an indelible mark among all their relatives, friends, and acquaintances.”

The pilot, Seankese Johnson, received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, and had logged about 800 hours of flight time as of March, Homendy said. Recently, he posted a photo on Facebook of him piloting a helicopter with Manhattan in the background. In 2023, he posted that he was flying a firefighting helicopter.

“Long hours and painstaking work to get to this moment. Thank you for all the love and support from those who’ve helped me get here,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson transitioned to aviation after a career in the Navy.

He enlisted in 2006 and served until 2018, achieving the rank of Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class, Defense Department records show. He was stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan from 2007 to 2011 and in San Diego from 2011 to 2018, serving in the Special Warfare Unit, the Special Warfare Logistics Support Unit and the Coastal Riverine Squadron.

Officials call for air traffic restrictions

Thursday’s crash amplified calls from some community activists and public officials to ban or restrict helicopter traffic around Manhattan. More than three dozen people have been killed in helicopter crashes in New York City since 1977.

New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat, called the crash a “reminder of our worst fears” and said “having nonessential flights over densely populated areas is a recipe for disaster.”

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat running for governor of New Jersey, called on the FAA to restrict tourist flights. Had the helicopter veered a few hundred feet inland, it might have crashed into a walkway, a playground or apartment buildings, he said.

“It’s a very dangerous situation, and I think we need to be practical about it,” Fulop said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, however, said he doesn’t want to restrict any flights until the investigation is complete. He told 1010 WINS radio: “People want to see the city from the sky. At the heart of this is safety. It must be done right.”

A helicopter industry group also urged caution.

“Unfortunately, some well-meaning but misguided leaders are using this tragedy to exploit and push their decades-old agenda to ban all helicopters,” Eastern Region Helicopter Council Chairman Jeff Smith said in a statement.

A collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson in 2009 killed nine people, and five died in 2018 when a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights went down into the East River.

Tour company is ‘profoundly saddened’

The flight’s operator, New York Helicopter, said in a statement Friday that it is “profoundly saddened by the tragic accident and loss of life,” adding that the safety and well-being of passengers and crew “has always been the cornerstone of our operations.”

The company, one of a handful offering sightseeing flights in the Big Apple, had been beset by financial problems in recent years. It emerged from bankruptcy in 2022 and has faced lawsuits for allegedly failing to pay its bills.

The company’s owner, Michael Roth, told the New York Post he was devastated and had “no clue” what 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 anything like this during his 30 years in the helicopter business, but noted: “These are machines, and they break.”

Helicopter had maintenance issue last fall

The helicopter, a Bell 206 LongRanger IV, was built in 2004.

According to FAA records, it had a maintenance issue last September involving its transmission assembly.

An entry in the agency’s Service Difficulty Reporting System shows the transmission assembly had metal in oil, a sign of wear, and a bearing in the transmission was found to be flaking.

The helicopter had logged 12,728 total flight hours at the time, according to the records.

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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Philip Marcelo and Jennifer Peltz in New York; Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York; Tara Copp in Washington; and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, contributed.