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By LAURA PARNABY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 21:47 BST, 10 April 2025 | Updated: 23:32 BST, 10 April 2025
Six people have died after a helicopter carrying tourists including three children plunged into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey. The horrific incident unfolded just before 3.30pm on Thursday, closer to the Garden State side of the river, according to police. Passengers included a family of five from Spain, and the pilot. A stunned eyewitness said he heard what ‘sounded like a sonic boom’ and he turned around just in time to catch the horrific moment the aircraft plunged into the river. ‘I looked up and literally just see a helicopter splitting in two with the rotor flying off into the sky,’ the witness told ABC affiliate WABC.’It was going so fast and it just went straight into the water. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.’The tragedy marks the latest in a series of aircraft disasters in the area in recent years, including a 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering ‘open door’ flights that went down into the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, killing five people.In 2009, another tourist helicopter also collided with a plane over the Hudson River, killing nine people.Follow DailyMail.com’s live blog for all the latest coverage. New York Helicopter Tours CEO Michael Roth addresses crashThe aircraft carrying a family of five and a pilot was operated by New York Helicopter, a local tour company.New York Helicopter Tours CEO Michael Roth told the New York Post, ‘It’s devastation.”I’m a father and a grandfather and to have children on there, I’m devastated. I’m absolutely devastated.”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.’This is horrific, but you gotta remember something, these are machines and they break.’Crews work to recover helicopter from Hudson RiverAs of 5:15 p.m., rescue efforts appeared to have concluded, and officials are focused on recovering parts of the aircraft, reported Fox 5.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.Cloudy conditions at the time of terrifying helicopter crashAt 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.New York City Mayor Eric Adams provides update on crashFlight tracking software shows path of doomed chopper The helicopter took off from the southern edge of Manhattan, before circling up the west side of the island down the Hudson River, Flight Radar tracking shows. It U-turned close to the northern edge of Manhattan, and almost made it back down the Hudson until it crashed close to Hoboken in New Jersey. Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams issues statementWitness recalls moment plane ‘slammed into the water’One witness said he saw the plane ‘falling apart’ as it tumbled down towards the water in several pieces, around 500 meters from the nearest pier. ‘The propeller was still in the sky, and (the helicopter) just slammed into the water,’ he told NBC New York. ‘The plane was turned around, sitting there in the water, almost like it was floating,’ he added. Witnesses tell DailyMail.com about hearing ‘loud thump’ as plane hit the water Brian Marks was at Penny Park in Manhattan with his children when the helicopter went down. He described hearing a ‘loud thump’ when it hit the water. ‘One of my children said, “what’s that sound?” I told him I didn’t know,’ Marks told DailyMail.com. Marks said he often kayaks in the river and has had Red Cross water safety training.’In this river, at this time of day and with this temperature hypothermia will kill you quickly,’ he said. Helicopter ‘span uncontrollably’ in the air before plunging into river – witness Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, said she saw the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water.’There was a bunch of smoke coming out. It was spinning pretty fast, and it landed in the water really hard,’ she said in a phone interview.Bystander films moments after the crash Helicopter ‘fell apart’ in mid-air – witnessesWitness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter ‘falling apart’ in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.Harrowing video transcript from deadly 2018 New York helicopter crash resurfacesA harrowing video transcript from inside a doors-off sightseeing helicopter which crashed in New York City’s East River in March 2018 has re-emerged in the wake of Thursday’s deadly crash. The old clip showed doomed passengers struggling to free themselves from harnesses as the aircraft filled with water, officials said. ‘How do I cut this?’ one passenger can be heard asking, just 13 seconds before the helicopter became completely submerged in the river between Manhattan and Brooklyn. The National Transportation Safety Board made a transcript of the video public in September 2019, but the footage itself was not provided.It was taken from a GoPro camera mounted on the cabin ceiling. Investigators had been looking at whether the harnesses hindered passengers’ escape from the helicopter, which flipped over and quickly sank.The transcript painted a picture of tragedy that unfolded in mere seconds, with one passenger reaching for a spot on his chest where a hook knife had been seen earlier, another pulling in vain at the shoulder straps of his harness and a third heard panting.Video shows rescue operations in the aftermath of the crash The rescue craft were near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side of the river. Rescue crews had to deal with 45-degree water temperatures.Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were on nearby streets with their lights flashing.Shocking images show rescue mission FAA releases details about the helicopter The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are planning to investigate.’It sounded like a sonic boom’: witness recalls seeing chopper plunge into Hudson River ‘It sounded like a sonic boom on my right,’ a witness told ABC affiliate WABC. ‘I looked up and literally just see a helicopter splitting in two with the rotor flying off into the sky. ‘It was going so fast and it just went straight into the water. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.’ Disturbing footage shows the moment the helicopter crashed into the Hudson Hudson River helicopter crash is the latest in a series of Big Apple aircraft fatalitiesThe tragedy marks the latest in a series of aircraft disasters in the area in recent years, including a 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering ‘open door’ flights that went down into the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, killing five people.In 2009, another tourist helicopter also collided with a plane over the Hudson River, killing nine people.Death toll rises to six Six people have been confirmed dead in the crash, including three children, according to the Associated Press. Images show the helicopter almost submerged in the Hudson River At least three people dead in NYC horror helicopter crash At least three people have died after a helicopter carrying two adults and three children plunged into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey.The horrific incident unfolded just before 3.30pm on Thursday, closer to the Garden State side of the river, according to police.
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Eyewitness shares chilling details of helicopter’s death spiral… and terrifying truth about Big Apple chopper rides
