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Fatal Hudson River Helicopter Crash Claims Five Lives
A devastating aviation accident in New York City resulted in the death of five individuals this week when their helicopter plummeted into the Hudson River during a sightseeing tour. The victims include a young family and the pilot.
Details of the Hudson River Tragedy
Agustín Escobar, his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, their three children, and their pilot perished when the helicopter’s rotor apparently detached, striking the tail and causing the aircraft to spiral downwards into the river.
The Spanish family, who had recently arrived in New York, intended to celebrate their daughter’s birthday with an aerial tour encompassing the Statue of Liberty.
Just sixteen minutes prior to the crash, the family was photographed smiling beside the helicopter. Harrowing video footage captured the moment the aircraft plummeted from the sky into the water at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday.
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Reports indicate that the pilot had radioed authorities, stating they were low on fuel and preparing to land shortly before the catastrophic event unfolded.
This recent incident is part of a disturbing pattern of aviation disasters over the New York waterway, with several tourist helicopters experiencing similar accidents in recent years.
Past Hudson River Aviation Accidents
The most widely known Hudson River plane crash occurred in 2009 when a passenger jet descended into the frigid waters.
Remarkably, Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger’s heroic actions ensured the survival of all 155 passengers and crew members on board.
While skilled pilots have successfully executed emergency landings on the river, not all such attempts have been without loss of life, with numerous flights concluding in tragedy over the years.
Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a helicopter crash on the Hudson River near lower Manhattan in New York, as viewed from Newport, New Jersey U.S., April 10, 2025
Distressing footage captured the moment the helicopter’s rotor separated and impacted the Hudson River following the fatal crash
According to the Spanish newspaper El Diario, the family was vacationing in New York to celebrate their child’s birthday. Heartfelt images depict the Escobar family posing on the helipad and within the helicopter before the accident.
Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children, ages four, five, and 11, photographed moments before the crash
The family had recently arrived from Barcelona and were beginning their first day of sightseeing in the city
‘Miracle on the Hudson’: The 2009 US Airways Flight 1549 Emergency Landing
The skies above the Hudson River are frequently used by airplanes and helicopters for private, commercial, and tourist flights.
Records indicate that at least 32 individuals have died in helicopter crashes within New York City airspace since 1977.
However, the most renowned incident occurred in 2009, when a passenger plane carrying 155 people executed a crash landing on the river following a bird strike and subsequent dual engine failure.
US Airways Flight 1549 was on a scheduled flight from New York to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on January 15, 2009.
The weather conditions were clear and cold, with a temperature of minus seven degrees Celsius.
‘What a view of the Hudson today,’ Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger remarked to copilot Jeffrey Skiles, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the incident.
Less than one minute later, the aircraft collided with a flock of birds at an altitude of 3,000 feet, resulting in the failure of both engines.
Sullenberger assumed control of the plane and informed air traffic controllers that returning to LaGuardia Airport was not feasible.
His options were limited to a smaller airport for private aircraft in New Jersey, which was potentially too distant, or the Hudson River. Sullenberger chose to land on the water.
The stakes were incredibly high, with 155 lives on board—including the flight crew and passengers—and millions of residents in the city below.
Captain Sully, a former USAF fighter pilot, counted down the final seconds before the plane touched down on the river at 3:31 p.m.
Passengers stand on the wings of a U.S. Airways plane as a ferry approaches after the emergency landing in the Hudson River, New York, January 15, 2009
Rescue boats converge on US Airways Flight 1549, which is afloat in the Hudson River after the afternoon crash on January 15, 2009
In a miraculous turn of events, all 155 individuals aboard the aircraft survived the dramatic incident
The jet, carrying over 150 people, came down in the icy Hudson River off Manhattan after striking a flock of geese
Passengers evacuated onto the wings and inflatable rafts as commuter ferries quickly arrived to assist in the rescue operation.
One flight attendant and four passengers sustained injuries, but the majority of those on board were unharmed.
Michele Davis, a passenger from Olympia, Washington, described the experience a decade later to the Associated Press as encompassing ‘every single emotion you could ever feel.’
‘And then, concluding it all with ‘Wow, I’m alive,’ and experiencing this sense of amazement and awe. It took a significant amount of time for it to fully register. It still seems unbelievable,’ she recounted.
Sullenberger was celebrated as a hero for his decisive actions in 2009. He retired from commercial aviation the following year and transitioned to a career as an international lecturer and aviation safety expert for CBS News.
2009 Helicopter and Plane Mid-Air Collision: Nine Fatalities
In 2009, a sightseeing helicopter carrying Italian tourists collided with a small plane above the Hudson River, resulting in the deaths of nine people.
Authorities indicated that the helicopter crashed after being struck by the plane’s right wing.
The plane, a Piper PA-32, departed from Teterboro Airport on August 10, 2009, and reported engine trouble prior to the collision with the helicopter.
Both aircraft disintegrated and fell into the river approximately 100 meters from the Hoboken, N.J. shoreline.
An eyewitness at the scene reported seeing the helicopter’s propeller separate before the aircraft plunged into the river.
‘I looked up and observed pieces of the propeller in the air,’ stated Alanna Duffy.
‘They were mangled.’
The wreckage of a helicopter involved in a mid-air collision with a plane over the Hudson River is lifted by a crane onto a pier in Hoboken, NJ, on August 10, 2009
Debris from the helicopter crash on the Hudson River, resulting from a collision with an airplane on August 10, 2009
Parts from both aircraft that broke apart and crashed into the river, around 100 meters from the coast of Hoboken, N.J.
A diver retrieves fragments of wreckage from the Hudson River, observed from Hoboken, N.J., Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009
Buzz Nahas, witnessing the collision from the Hoboken, New Jersey shore, described hearing a loud popping sound, similar to a car backfiring.
He added that the helicopter ‘dropped like a rock’ and the plane lost a wing.
The victims included 15-year-old Giacomo Gallazzi, his father Favio, 49, and mother Tiziana Pedroni, 44.
Other tourists who perished were 51-year-old Michele Norelli and his 16-year-old son Filippo Norelli.
The Norellis were on a trip commemorating their 25th wedding anniversary. His wife, Silvia Rigamonti, opted not to join the helicopter tour due to her apprehension about flying in helicopters.
The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS 350, belonged to Liberty Tours, a company offering sightseeing flights to tourists.
2013: Heroic Pilot Safely Lands Helicopter After Power Loss
In June 2013, a helicopter carrying a family on a sightseeing tour of New York City was compelled to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River after experiencing a sudden loss of power.
The Bell 206 helicopter, carrying two adults and two children from Sweden, had taken off from the Wall Street heliport on June 30, 2013.
It had been airborne for only twelve minutes when the engine lost power.
‘It was ten feet above the water, and it simply went down. There was a significant splash,’ recounted witness William Parra to the New York Post.
Deputy Fire Chief Thomas McKavanaugh commented after the incident that the pilot ‘did an exceptional job considering the engine failure.’
A helicopter rests on a pontoon at the 79th Street Boat Basin following an emergency river landing over the Hudson River, Sunday, June 30
The helicopter, carrying four Swedish tourists, made an emergency landing in the Hudson River near Manhattan
With exceptional skill, the pilot managed to bring the helicopter down onto the river, keeping it upright upon impact.
No injuries were reported, but the children were transported to a nearby hospital for precautionary observation.
The modest pilot stated following the incident that he was not a hero and was merely performing his duty.
2016 WWII-Era Plane Crash: Pilot Fatality
William ‘Bill’ Gordon tragically died when the WWII-era P-47 Thunderbolt he was piloting crashed into the Hudson River on May 27, 2016.
The 56-year-old pilot was flying the single-seat aircraft over New York as part of commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the iconic fighter plane.
The aircraft reportedly experienced a sudden engine failure mid-flight while filming promotional material for an upcoming air show that weekend.
Federal investigators later determined that an engine cylinder was damaged on the vintage plane, and oil was found externally on the engine.
Scuba divers recovered Gordon’s body several hours after the crash, and the aircraft was subsequently retrieved from the river.
Gordon, a father of two from Key West, Florida, was a seasoned air show pilot with over 25 years of flying experience.
Officials remove a plane from the Hudson River the day after it crashed, Saturday, May 28, 2016
Gordon (pictured with the WWII plane) was a father of two from Key West, Florida, and a veteran air show pilot
The World War II vintage P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft crashed into the river, resulting in the pilot’s death
Scott Clyman, flight operations pilot for the American Airpower Museum, described Gordon as ‘an extraordinary pilot who understood the profound message our aircraft convey in narrating the story of American courage and valor.’
Clyman informed mourners at a memorial service on Saturday that Gordon had always been captivated by World War II fighter planes and ‘quickly demonstrated the aptitude to master these demanding aircraft.’
‘If anyone could have landed that on the water short of Chesley Sullenberger, I assure you, it would have been him. I flew with him for years,’ his stepbrother Fred Schneeberger told the New York Daily News.
The P47-Thunderbolts were the heaviest single-engine fighter planes utilized by Allied forces during World War II.
They were first commissioned in 1942, with the 56th Fighter Group based on Long Island.
The aircraft that crashed in the river was flown periodically, including to other air shows, according to Gary Lewi, spokesperson for the American Airpower Museum.
2018 East River Helicopter Crash: Five Passengers Dead
Beyond the Statue of Liberty, the Upper Bay in New York splits into the Hudson River to the north and the East River estuary to the east.
The most recent helicopter crash in the area occurred in 2018 when a helicopter crashed into the East River, causing the deaths of five passengers.
The NTSB reported that the Eurocopter AS350 crash on March 11, 2018, was caused when the tail of the aircraft inadvertently contacted the fuel shutoff lever.
Tragically, all passengers on board drowned.
The victims were identified as Daniel Thompson, 34, Tristian Hill, 29, Trevor Cadigan, 26, Brian McDaniel, 26, and Carla Vallejos-Blanco, 29.
Pilot Richard Vance, 33, managed to escape the crash shortly after impact. However, the passengers were trapped inside, unable to release themselves from their safety harnesses as the helicopter inverted and sank, police stated.
Thompson was the president of the non-profit Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, where he had been a performer in the mixed ensemble since 2008.
A crane hoists a helicopter from the East River onto a barge, Monday, March 12, 2018, in New York. The pilot successfully escaped the crash after the aircraft overturned
The Eurocopter AS350 crashed on March 11, 2018, when the aircraft’s tail struck the fuel shutoff lever
In a photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigators examine components of the helicopter on Monday, March 12, 2018, that crashed into New York’s East River
Hill had relocated to the city several months prior to assume the role of director of operations at the sightseeing company SightSy.
Cadigan was a journalist, and his friend McDaniel was visiting from Dallas, where he was employed as a firefighter.
Vallejos-Blanco was a tourist from Argentina, Hill worked for a sightseeing startup, and Thompson was a chorus singer.
Divers searching the crash site discovered the passengers still secured in their tightly fastened harnesses.
According to the New York City Fire Department, the harnesses, which ensured their safety during the flight, ultimately hindered their escape.
Rescue divers located them dozens of feet below the surface within the overturned helicopter, according to FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
‘It was a protracted effort for the divers to extract the victims. They operated with utmost speed, as quickly as feasible,’ Nigro stated. ‘It is a profound tragedy that has occurred here.’
The water temperature at the time of the crash was a frigid three degrees Celsius (39F).
Initially, two passengers were pronounced dead at the scene. Three others were transported to hospitals in critical condition, according to FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
These three individuals were subsequently pronounced dead at the hospital, fire officials confirmed.
The helicopter crashed into the water at approximately 7:06 p.m. near East 90th Street and Roosevelt Island, in the waters adjacent to Gracie Mansion.