A witness recounted the sounds he heard as a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, killing a family of five and their pilot.
On Thursday (April 10), the Bell 206 aircraft, operated by New York Helicopters, went down at 3:17PM on April 10, just minutes after takeoff from Downtown Manhattan.
All six victims were recovered from the wreckage. Four were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others died after being transported to local hospitals. The aircraft had been on its sixth flight of the day.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams later confirmed the identities of the deceased: Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Barcelona; his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal; and their three children, aged 11, five, and four.
The pilot was also killed and has been identified as 36-year-old Navy SEAL veteran Sean Johnson.
Witnesses described a terrifying scene as the helicopter spiraled out of the sky and crashed into the river with a thunderous splash.
“It sounded like a sonic boom so I look up and literally I saw helicopter splitting in 2, with the rotor flying off in the sky it was going so fast and it just went straight into the water,” an eyewitness named Max told ABC7.
“Nothing came up afterwards; it must have just sunk, and that was it, and then I just waited here, and like five minutes later, we started seeing the police and stuff come. I've never seen anything like that in my life.
He continued: “For me, I just thought it was going to be like city noise, like a crash or like maybe like a jet going overhead - I know that's probably not common."
Other witnesses reported seeing pieces fall from the sky. Dani Horbiak told ABC News: “I heard five or six loud noises that sounded almost like gunshots in the sky and saw pieces fall off, then watched it fall into the river.”
And Avi Rakesh told NBC News, “I don’t know what happened to the tail, but it just straight up dropped. It dropped feet away from Holland Tunnel, and I can’t imagine if it hit it.”
A haunting video shared online shows the helicopter spiraling through the air, missing its rotors, before crashing upside down into the Hudson River.
According to Michael Roth, the 71-year-old owner of New York Helicopter, the deceased pilot had radioed that he was heading back to the helipad for fuel.
“He called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,” Roth told The Telegraph.
He added that another pilot with the company later flew over the river and spotted the helicopter upside down in the water.
President Donald Trump posted about the tragic incident on Truth Social: “Terrible helicopter crash in the Hudson River. Looks like six people- the pilot, two adults, and three children- are no longer with us. The footage of the accident is horrendous."
"God bless the families and friends of the victims. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, and his talented staff are on it. Announcements as to exactly what took place and how will be made shortly!” he added.
The crash has triggered investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.