Footage shows terrifying moment helicopter's blades fell into Hudson before crash killed family of 5

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Chilling footage shows a helicopter’s blades falling from the chopper to the Hudson River after getting detached from the aircraft in New York City. 

In a tragic incident that claimed the lives of all six people, including three children, on board, a New York City sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River at 3:15 pm on Thursday, April 10.

The fateful helicopter was part of a sightseeing tour conducted by a local company named New York Helicopter.

Terrifying footage shows helicopter blades falling off the chopper

In a series of terrifying footage of the incident, the sightseeing helicopter plummeted into the Hudson River after its rotor blade detached from the main body of the aircraft. 

The helicopter that appeared to be a N216MH-a Bell 206L-4, according to Flight Radar, was ferrying the family of Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain. Apart from Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children were aboard the helicopter. 

The helicopter was piloted by a 36-year-old airman, who also died along with the family in the harrowing accident. It has been reported that just a few minutes before the crash, the pilot radioed the base to warn that they were running out of fuel.

The Barcelona-based family was on their first day of touring the Big Apple. They booked the helicopter to give them an aerial tour over the Hudson River around the Statue of Liberty and up to the George Washington Bridge.

As reported by the Daily Mail, the videos of the accident appeared to give an insight into the reason behind the crash, as experts believe the separation of the rotor blades from the aircraft likely resulted in slicing the tail, subsequently causing the harrowing accident. 

Former military aviator Jim Brauchle of Motley Rice LLC told the outlet, “From the footage, it appears that the main rotor struck the body of the helicopter, cutting off the tail of the helicopter, which created an unrecoverable event.”

The aviator-turned-attorney further added, “The two main causes of this phenomenon are mechanical failure or excessive maneuvering. Still, a full investigation is needed to understand why this tragedy occurred.”

“Having previously represented the families of tourists killed during a helicopter tour over the Hudson River, my heart goes out to the families at this catastrophic time,” continued Brauchle. 

Another expert told Fox 5 that had the separating rotor blades actually split the chopper's tail boom, the flight would have been unrecoverable.

“If that articulating head actually separated from the aircraft, the aircraft was doomed. There's no possibility of that aircraft ever having made a normal type of landing. It was going to crash,” said the expert to Fox 5, before adding, “In this particular case though, when you throw a blade, one blade or the entire head, no, you're just a falling brick.”

Before going down, the helicopter flew for approximately 16 minutes after taking off from the Wall Street Heliport. It did a circle near the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge at about 1000 feet.

Eventually, following the dislocation of its rotor blade, the chopper “split in half” before going down to the river near Pier 40. 

According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, as the emergency crew took over, four passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, and the remaining two were taken to the hospital, where they “succumbed to their injuries.”

Donald Trump and NYC Mayor Eric Adams speak on the accident

The owner of New York Helicopter, Michael Roth, 71, reflected on the accident and told The Telegraph in an interview that the chopper was running out of fuel before crashing. 

Roth shared, “He [the pilot] 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.”

He added that while he was devastated by the crash, he agreed with the experts about the chopper’s rotor blades breaking off. 

To the New York Post, he said, “The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren't on the helicopter,” before adding, “And I haven't seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business. The only thing I could guess – I got no clue – is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don't know.”

President Donald Trump, too, took to his social media to talk about the tragedy, as he wrote, “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!”

New York Mayor Eric Adams said, “Our hearts go out to the families of those who were onboard,” before revealing, “All six have been removed from the water, and sadly all six victims have been pronounced deceased.”

“Recovery operations have been secured for the night. Major parts of the aircraft have not been recovered so dive operations by the NYPD and NJSP will resume tomorrow morning,” explained Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.