New York helicopter crash kills family, pilot

What happened

A New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed into the Hudson River Thursday, killing all five passengers — a family of Spanish tourists — and the pilot.

Who said what

Emergency boats with divers surrounded the Bell 206 helicopter soon after it crashed into the Hudson near Jersey City, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. "Four victims were pronounced dead on scene, and two more were removed to local area hospitals, where, sadly, both succumbed to their injuries." The dead included Agustín Escobar, an executive at tech company Siemens, his wife and three kids, The New York Times and The Associated Press said. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the crash an "unimaginable tragedy."

Video of the crash showed the Bell 206, operated by New York Helicopters, tumbling downward without its main rotor blades attached. Once the pilot "loses both the tail and the rotor, there's nothing left to do," aviation lawyer Jim Brauchle told The Washington Post "It's an unrecoverable event, unfortunately."

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What next?

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the "latest U.S. aviation disaster," the AP said. "At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977," including fatal tourist helicopter crashes in 2009 and 2018. "Tens of thousands of tourist helicopter flights depart from heliports in and around New York City" each year, the Times said.