New York Helicopter Tours CEO Michael Roth broke his silence on the tragic helicopter crash into the Hudson River that killed six people on Thursday.
Just after 3:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, a helicopter carrying five tourists and one pilot crashed into the Hudson River. Tragically, all five passengers and the pilot were killed in the horrific accident.
According to ABC News, the victims were identified as Siemens Spain CEO Agustín Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children (4, 5 and 11). The family was on vacation from Spain.
The identity of the pilot has not been released as officials continue their investigation, per ABC News. The helicopter was a Bell 206.
New York Helicopter Tours operated the Bell 206 that crashed into the Hudson River. Roth broke his silence after the tragedy, per Jorge Fitz-Gibbon of 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.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating what caused the tragedy. We’ll have more details on the investigation when officials make them available.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families and friends during this awful time.
Hudson River Helicopter Crash Marks Another Tragic 2025 Aviation Accident
The Hudson River tragedy comes two and a half months after the horrific 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision above the Potomac River near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. On Jan. 29, an American Airlines plane collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, killing all 67 people on the two aircraft.
On Jan. 31, a Learjet 55 crashed into Philadelphia’s Castor Gardens neighborhood, causing seven deaths and 24 injuries. On Feb. 17, a Delta flight from Minneapolis–Saint Paul to Toronto crashed and flipped upside down, though everyone on board miraculously survived.
