Six people were killed when a sightseeing helicopter carrying a family from Spain tumbled out of the sky on Thursday and plunged into the Hudson River just off Jersey City, N.J., across from Manhattan.
AgustĂn Escobar, the chief executive for rail infrastructure for the technology company Siemens, his three children and his wife were pulled from the helicopter or the frigid river but none survived, a senior law enforcement official said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the crash. Another official confirmed that the Siemens executive and his family had been killed. The pilot was also killed.
The helicopter went down near a ventilation building above the Holland Tunnel, across the river from the West Village, at about 3:15 p.m.
Here is what else we know:
- Witness and video accounts:Â Video of the crash shows the helicopter tumbling and hitting the water at a high speed. A rotor flew off and the craft nose-dived into the water, sending debris flying toward the boat.
- The helicopter and its operator: The helicopter was a Bell 206 operated by New York Helicopter, which runs sightseeing tours for several hundred dollars a flight. The company’s chief executive said he did not know what had happened to the aircraft, which was leased from a company in Louisiana.
- The route: The helicopter appeared to have taken off from Downtown Manhattan Heliport. It circled near the Statue of Liberty, flew north to the George Washington Bridge, and was heading back south just off New Jersey’s shoreline when it crashed.
- The cause is unknown: The cause of the crash is under investigation, said New York City’s police commissioner, Jessica S. Tisch. The Coast Guard said it was working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Transportation Safety Board to salvage the helicopter.
- Emergency response:Â Two passengers were alive when pulled from the water but later died, Ms. Tisch said.
Source: The New York Times