NYC helicopter in fatal Hudson River crash had no flight recorders: NTSB
Apr 13, 2025
The doomed helicopter that plunged into the Hudson River Thursday, killing its pilot and five passengers, had no flight recorders equipped, federal officials said.
The Bell 206 L-4 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter in Manhattan, was on its eighth flight of the day when it dropped from the
sky during a sightseeing tour Thursday afternoon, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Investigators have recovered the helicopter’s main fuselage, including its cockpit and cabin, the forward portion of its tail boom, its horizontal stabilizer finlets and its vertical fin, the NTSB announced Saturday night.
Some of those parts will be sent to the NTSB laboratories in Washington, officials said.
NYPD divers are still looking for the chopper’s main rotor, main gear box, tail rotor and a large portion of its tail boom.
NTSB investigator documenting the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, New Jersey , photographed on April 11, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board)NTSB investigator documenting the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, New Jersey , photographed on April 11, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board)New York City Mayor Eric Adams (L) listens as Joan Camprubi, brother of mom killed on the crash, speaks during a press conference following a helicopter crash in the Hudson River at Pier 40, in New York City, on April 12, 2025. The Spanish family killed when a New York sightseeing helicopter plunged into the Hudson River, leaving no survivors, were celebrating a birthday, a local official said on April 11, 2025, as divers scoured for wreckage. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, with two of their three children are pictured in an undated photo. The family was killed in a helicopter crash on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Facebook) Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily NewsThe mangled wreckage of a helicopter is lifted from the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, April, 10, 2025, killing six people on board. (Bruce Wall via AP)A helicopter is seen submerged in the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey after it crashed on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)Debris floats in the water at the scene where a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)Show Caption1 of 8NTSB investigator documenting the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, New Jersey , photographed on April 11, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board)Expand
So far, investigators have found no onboard cameras or video recorders and the helicopter’s avionics didn’t record any useful information, NTSB officials said. The helicopter’s last inspection was on March 1.
Spanish tourists Agustin Escobar, the CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children all died in the crash, as did pilot Sean Johnson, after pieces of the helicopter, including the rotor, appeared to break off in mid-air.
The helicopter overturned and fell from the sky, hitting the river upside down.
At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977.
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