Six dead, including three kids, after helicopter crashes into NYC’s Hudson River: ‘Split in half’

Six people are dead after a tourist helicopter carrying a family from Spain “split in half” in midair and spiraled out of the sky before crashing into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon, according to officials. 

Dozens of first responders rushed to the scene after the Bell 206 aircraft, apparently missing its rotors, plunged into the river near Pier 40 in Manhattan near the Hoboken border of New Jersey around 3:15 p.m., the FDNY said. 

A top executive of the global technology company Siemens and his family were identified as five of the victims who were killed. The sixth victim was the pilot, 36-year-old Sean Johnson.

Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children — who authorities identified Friday as Augustin, 10, Mercedes, 8, and Victor, 4 — had just arrived in the Big Apple from Barcelona earlier in the day, according to law enforcement sources.

The doomed chopper was owned and operated by New York Helicopter, a tour company in the Big Apple that touts itself for providing comfort and safety to customers. 

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“I’m absolutely devastated,” CEO Michael Roth, who was visibly shaken, told The Post. 

“The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter. And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business.” 

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NYPD divers recovered all six victims — four of whom were pronounced dead at the scene, and two who “succumbed to their injuries” at a local hospital, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. 

A witness to the fatal crash was walking along the Hudson River Greenway when he saw the chopper drop at a 45-degree angle and plunge into the waterway within “seconds.”

“I was like, ‘Oh s–t,’” Eric Campoverde, 21, told The Post. 

“I was walking home from work when I saw the helicopter going down at a 45-degree angle,” he said. “Then I heard and saw a big splash. It was going fast.”

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The 21-year-old construction worker said that after the initial splash, the aircraft was only above water for seconds before it submerged into the chilly waters. 

“It was maybe on top of the water for three or four seconds before it went under. It was fast.”

Chilling footage captured the moment the helicopter spiraled out of the sky before plummeting into the Hudson. Other clips showed the rotors splashing down into various parts of the water. 

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Witnesses said the aircraft “split in half” and made “a boom sound” when it crashed.

“It was falling apart probably 15 feet before it actually fell and then the tail whipped off and the propeller fell while it was falling,” Jersey City resident Bruce Wall, 28, recalled.

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“Like a boom sound when it hit, it was a crackling sound, I guess you could say, something breaking apart in midair. The helicopter was still pretty loud and then just a loud, loud crash into water.” 

Flight Tracker data showed the aircraft, carrying five passengers and a pilot, was in the air for roughly 15 minutes before going down. 

The helicopter traveled up the Hudson from Lower Manhattan toward Fort Lee before turning around just north of the George Washington Bridge and reaching the water by Hoboken leading up to the crash, records show.

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The chopper was floating upside down on the New Jersey border of the Hudson River near the vents to the Holland Tunnel near Jersey City when more than five dozen first responders arrived at the alarming scene and initiated rescue efforts, according to officials.

Gov. Kathy Hochul offered prayers for the victims and confirmed that her office was standing by ready to assist with recovery efforts.

Police also warned of traffic delays in the surrounding area near the West Side Highway and Spring Street.

It remains unclear what caused the crash.

Escobar was the global CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility and before that was head of Siemens Spain for about two years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

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While Manhattan’s skies are routinely dotted with planes and helicopters, Thursday’s horrifying crash is one of several deadly tragedies involving tourist helicopters in recent years. 

At least 32 people have died in helicopter accidents in NYC since 1977, according to the Associated Press. 

In 1977, the landing gear on a Sikorsky S-61L malfunctioned as passengers waited to board from the roof of the Pan Am Building. The chopper tipped on its side, and its spinning rotor blades killed four people — including film director Michael Findlay — and injured a fifth.

A broken piece of blade fell down to the streets below, killing a pedestrian and injuring another.

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In 2009, nine people were killed when a Eurocopter AS350 tourist helicopter with five Italian tourists on board collided with a small private plane over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken. The flight was operated by Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours.

A jury later awarded the family of the victims $116 million in a lawsuit.

In 2019, an Agusta A109E helicopter crash-landed on the roof of a 54-story building in Midtown Manhattan, killing the pilot, later identified as Tim McCormack. He was the only person on board and known as a well-respected pilot. It was speculated by airport officials that McCormack suffered a mechanical failure while in flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the probe into Thursday’s incident, the latest in a series of deadly aircraft emergencies in the past few months.

With additional reporting from Jorge Fitz-Gibbon and Amanda Woods

With Post wires