The helicopter company involved in Thursday’s fatal Hudson River crash has been plagued by near-misses in the past – including an eerily similar crash landing in the same waters 12 years earlier.
Horrified onlookers in New York and New Jersey watched as the aircraft, operated by local tour company New York Helicopter Charters, split apart in the sky and spiraled into the river.
Six bodies have now been pulled from the wreckage – Spanish tech boss Agustín Escobar, his wife and their three children, and the pilot.
The chopper involved in the crash was a N216MH Bell 206L-4 which had been leased from Louisiana-based company Meridian Helicopters.
In 2013, one of the tour company’s helicopters was forced to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River after it lost power in eerily similar circumstances to Thursday’s tragedy.
A family of four tourists from Sweden had been taking a sightseeing tour in a Bell 206 helicopter that had also taken off near Wall Street.
The pilot was forced to land in the water and deploy inflatable pontoons to keep the aircraft upright.
All four passengers were taken to hospital at the time, but there were no serious injuries.
At the time of the crash, company owner Michael Roth told the Wall Street Journal he had ‘no clue why we lost power’, adding that the helicopter underwent daily routine inspections.
Just two years later in 2015, another aircraft crashed after it began spinning out of control while hovering 20 feet off the ground.
The pilot reported putting the helicopter down for a ‘hard landing’ and an investigation into the problem was launched.
It was determined the same helicopter – a Bell 206 model that had been leased from Meridian Helicopters – had been involved in a hard landing in Chile five years prior.
The National Transportation Safety Board deemed the drive shaft of the aircraft ‘unairworthy.’
And in court documents seen by DailyMail.com, New York Helicopter Charter has faced financial difficulties in recent years, filing for bankruptcy in 2019 amid changes to air traffic policies in New York City which impacted the business.
The filing states that companies had been ordered to stick to certain routes and flying schedules, unable to operate on Sundays due to complaints about noise.
Roth told the New York Post that as a father and grandfather, he was ‘devastated’ by Thursday’s tragedy.
‘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.
‘The only thing I could guess – I got no clue – is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don’t know.
‘He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,’ he said.
Roth added that ‘every employee in our company is devastated’ and said his ‘wife has not stopped crying.
‘I got a call from my manager and my downtown heliport and she said she heard there was a crash, and then my phone blew up from everybody.’
The National Transportation Safety Board launched a ‘go team’ on Thursday night to investigate the tragedy.
At the time of the crash, it was cloudy with winds around 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph, CNN reported.
Surface visibility was considered good — 10 miles — but it was cloudy as a system is moving into the region, bringing light rain to the region this afternoon and evening.
The helicopter flew for approximately 16 minutes before going down into the water. It took off from the Wall Street Heliport and did a circle near the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge at about 1,000 feet.
Horrified onlookers have told DailyMail.com about how the tragedy unfolded in front of their very eyes.
Rashmi Kamkeri, a 30-year-old engineer, was working remotely from her apartment in Newport Park when she heard a deafening crash about 3.19pm on Thursday.
‘It was horrifying,’ Kamkeri told DailyMail.com.
‘I thought it was thunder and ten seconds later I saw the helicopter 10 feet above the water falling and then it made a big splash and went underneath the water.
‘I panicked… then saw a piece of the helicopter fall into the water. The Waterway boat was moving and then it took a turn.
‘I was almost in tears praying that someone would come and save them. I wished there would be someone survives. I am so sad.’
Others recalled hearing what they thought was a ‘sonic boom’ before they witnessed the debris falling.
Some footage showed the chopper ‘flying erratically’ just before it fell into the water, while other clips showed pieces of the aircraft were seen flying off.
‘Our hearts go out to the families of those who were onboard,’ Mayor Eric Adams said. ‘All six have been removed from the water, and sadly all six victims have been pronounced deceased.’
Four people were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others were taken to the hospital, where they ‘succumbed to their injuries,’ NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The family of five who tragically perished were pictured posing on the helipad and inside the aircraft before the crash.
Escobar was appointed to serve as the CEO of Siemens in Spain in 2022 after previously serving as the CEO of Siemens Mobility Spain.