Mid-Air Rotor Separation Leads to Fatal Helicopter Crash in Hudson River

The Nurenberg aviation team is investigating the facts and circumstances behind the tragic crash of a tour helicopter operating in the metropolitan New York City airspace.

On April 10, 2025, an air tour helicopter conducting a sightseeing trip around Manhattan tragically crashed into the Hudson River, resulting in the deaths of six individuals. The victims of the crash have been identified as passengers Agustin Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children, aged 4, 8, and 10, along with pilot Seankese Johnson. The passengers were visiting New York City from Barcelona, Spain.

Video evidence reveals that the main rotors detached from the helicopter's fuselage during flight, resulting in the fuselage tumbling and descending into the Hudson River, just north of the Holland Tunnel. The footage also indicates that the tail rotor and tail boom similarly separated from the fuselage mid-flight.

Before it crashed, N216MH, a Bell 206-L4 helicopter, had departed from the Wall Street Heliport on Pier 6 along the East River in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. It circled the Statue of Liberty, moved north along the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge, and then turned around and proceeded south along the west side of the Hudson River.

Incidents involving the loss of the main rotor in Bell 206 helicopters are infrequent. However, they have been documented. In 2019, two people died when a pilot caused "mast bumping", leading the main rotor to strike and detach both the main rotors and the tail boom. In 2008, a Bell 206's main rotor blades separated mid-flight due to fatigue failure caused by manufacturing defects in the blade spar. In 2024, a Bell 206 struck a goose mid-flight, causing a loss of rotor control and resulting in the helicopter's inflight breakup.

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