Six people have been killed after a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York yesterday evening.
On board was a Spanish family of five and the aircraft’s pilot.
Husband and wife Agustín Escobar and Mercè Camprubí Montal were both executives at the technology company Siemens.
They were with their children, aged four, five and 11.
Washington Bureau for the Guardian David Smith told Newstalk Breakfast that the helicopter appears to have had a “catastrophic failure”.
“I think we will have to await a proper investigation report to understand exactly what happened, but certainly eyewitnesses are saying that they saw this helicopter come apart midair,” he said.
“It seems the rotary blades were separated from the main body of it and the helicopter plummeted into the water.
“I think most experts think, you know, from the moment it started to break apart, there was very little chance of anyone surviving it.
“There have been eyewitnesses describing hearing a loud bang – one person described it as they thought these were gunshots.”
Six people including three children were killed after a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York yesterday.
A family of five and the pilot were killed after the sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River.
[1/2] pic.twitter.com/AF8A07F8Ye
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) April 11, 2025
Mr Smith said there is an “increased anxiety” recently around the safety of American air travel, following multiple recent incidents.
“There’ve been all sorts of other incidents as well, including one where a plane landed upside down, and it is causing concern,” he said.
“It comes in the context of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE making cuts, including to air traffic control.
“People who work in that industry [are] saying resources are very stretched and it’s hard to get enough people, it’s hard to get them trained.”
According to Mr Smith, this is causing a lot of concerns for both politicians and passengers.
Main image: NYFD divers return to Pier 40 on the NYC waterfront as rescue boats search for the downed tourist helicopter in the Hudson River off Jersey City. Image: © Milo Hess/ZUMA Press Wire) 10th Apr, 2025
