UNITED STATES – An investigation is underway into the helicopter crash that killed six people – the pilot and a family of Spanish tourists – when the chopper plunged into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey on Thursday.
A wreckage exam is now underway. The helicopter’s engine and other components have been pulled off the wreckage to be closely examined, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference Friday.
Divers on Friday were still working to recover other pieces of the helicopter, including the main rotor, the main transmission, the roof structure and the tail structure, Homendy said.
Homendy asked the public to send any photos and videos of the crash to the NTSB.
The family on board was Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, 49, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, 39, and their children, ages 4, 8 and 10, officials said.
The family came to New York City to join Escobar, who was in the US for a business trip, according to Jersey City Mayor Fulop.
“We are working with [the medical examiner] to expedite the release of the family to fly back to Spain,” Fulop said on social media Friday.
Also killed was the pilot, 36-year-old Seankese “Sam” Johnson, officials said.
Johnson, who had served in the military, accumulated 788 hours of total flight time, the NTSB said.
He was “an amazing man”, Matt Klier, his friend from the Navy and a fellow helicopter pilot, told New York ABC station WABC.
“The man was an amazing pilot,” he added. “That’s all he wanted to do.”
The chopper — which was operated by the New York Helicopter Tours company – fell into the 5-feet-deep Hudson River near Jersey City, New Jersey, on Thursday afternoon, just over 15 minutes after it departed from the Wall Street Heliport, officials said.
Video from the crash showed the chopper plunging into the water without a tail rotor or a main rotor blade. It was found upside-down in the 50-degree water when rescuers arrived at the scene. (ABC News)
