Heartbreaking: Helicopter Crashes Into Hudson River, Killing Six People

Yesterday afternoon we saw an absolutely tragic aviation accident in New York, and there are a lot more questions than answers.

Sightseeing helicopter suffers horrifying crash in New York

This accident happened during a helicopter sightseeing tour of New York City, which departed at around 3PM from the Wall Street heliport. The helicopter flew north along the Manhattan skyline, and then flew back south toward the Statue of Liberty.

18 minutes after the tour started, while flying near the New Jersey shoreline, the helicopter lost control, fell from the sky, and hit the water, not far from Pier A Park in Hoboken.

Based on video footage of the accident, the rotor blades were fully detached from the fuselage and still spinning as the helicopter fell from the sky, and the fuselage just fell right into the water. There were six people onboard, and tragically, they all died.

This included a pilot, plus a family of five from Spain, with three children, ages four, five, and 11. My gosh, just awful…

Here’s what NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch had to say about this accident:

“NYPD units from aviation, harbor, scuba and patrol all responded, with our first units arriving at the site within minutes. Our NYPD divers entered the water, along with rescue personnel from FDNY, Port Authority and various New Jersey agencies. NYPD divers pulled four people from the crash site, and FDNY divers recovered an additional two. Immediate lifesaving measures were undertaken on the vessels on the scene as well as the adjoining pier. Four victims were pronounced dead on scene, and two more were removed to local area hospitals, where sadly both succumbed to their injuries.” 

The helicopter involved in the incident was a Bell 206, owned by Louisiana-based Meridian Helicopters, which leases, sells, and refurbishes, helicopters. Meanwhile the helicopter was operated by New York Helicopters, which offers helicopter tours, and has been in business for nearly 30 years. New York Helicopters has a good safety record, with the only other incident in its history being a hard landing in 2015, which was blamed on a faulty part.

Here’s what New York Helicopters CEO Michael Roth said about this tragedy yesterday evening:

“I don’t know anything how this went down. The only thing I can tell you, we are devastated, my wife hasn’t stopped crying since this afternoon. We’re a small company. I’m a father and a grandfather, and we’re just devastated.”  

What a tragic and unusual helicopter accident

First and foremost, it goes without saying that my thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives. Any sort of an accident is terrible, but to think that a family of five died, including three young children, is just next level.

VASAviation has an excellent video that gives us a sense of the helicopter’s route, and its brief communication with air traffic control. At the time of the accident, the pilot wasn’t in contact with air traffic control, since he was traveling below controlled airspace. So there was no “mayday” call here, or anything.

Below is some audio of the rescue efforts — it’s impressive how quickly they responded, and even got divers in the water.

An investigation is now being performed into what happened. We know that the rotor blades were fully detached from the fuselage when the helicopter came crashing down, so the fuselage was basically just free falling. I can’t even imagine how awful those seconds must have been for those onboard.

Typically when you see a helicopter accident, it’s due to limited visibility or some other obvious factor. So to see a helicopter essentially break into two or more pieces mid-air is quite something. Once that happened, there was nothing the pilot could do — it’s like dropping a rock from the sky.

I must admit, I actually have a bit of a fear of helicopters, and refuse to take them. I recognize that’s largely irrational, because I’m the opposite with fixed wing aircraft, where I have no concerns. I’d gladly board a Mogadishu Airways Boeing 707 (if that existed), while getting on a helicopter (even of a well-regarded operator) freaks me out.

Bottom line

A New York City sightseeing helicopter went down yesterday afternoon, killing all six people onboard. The Bell 206 was flying over the Hudson River, and somehow the rotor blades became fully detached from the fuselage, causing the whole aircraft to plunge into the water.

My thoughts are with the families and friends of those onboard, and may the deceased rest in peace. Here’s to hoping that a thorough investigation can prevent a similar tragedy in the future.

What do you make of this horrible accident?