New York Chopper Sent Low Fuel Warning Before Fatal Hudson Crash That Killed All 6 Onboard

A chopper crashed into New York’s Hudson River after reporting low fuel, killing all 6 onboard a Spanish family of five and the pilot.

The chopper was built in 2004 and had an airworthiness certificate issued in 2016 that was good until 2029.

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The chopper that crashed into New York’s Hudson River on Thursday, killing all six people onboard, had sent out a radio message stating it was running low on fuel and was heading back to the helipad.

According to The Telegraph, Michael Roth, the chief executive of New York Helicopter Tours, after the pilot radioed in, he never made it back to the downtown Manhattan heliport. It took off about 16 minutes earlier on its sixth flight of the day.

“He called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,” Roth told the UK outlet. However, he does not know exactly why the chopper came down.

The crash led to the death of a Spanish family: Agustin Escobar, 49, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, 39, who was celebrating her 40th birthday, and their three children, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10. Mercedes would have celebrated her 9th birthday on Friday.

US Navy Veteran To Pilot

As well as the pilot, Seankese Johnson, 36, a US Navy veteran who received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023. He had logged about 800 hours of flight time as of March, according to the Associated Press (AP).

According to The Guardian report, Johnson’s wife, Kathryn, said that he had tried a variety of jobs after his military career, including on a TV show and as a bodyguard for celebrities. However, Johnson “always wanted to fly”.

Kathryn said that she was struggling to process the news of his death.

“It’s just hard right now”.

The chopper took off at 2:59 pm from downtown Manhattan, flew south before turning into flying north along the Manhattan shoreline, up the Hudson River. It reached George Washington Bridge around 3:08 pm and then turned to fly south along the New Jersey shoreline, and shortly after, it lost control. The helicopter flew for about 16 minutes before going down into the water.

Officials believe that the chopper was inverted when the helicopter hit the water, leaving the cabin visible in the water. According to CNN, the helicopter stopped mid-air, and pieces of it were falling off before it hit the water, which is consistent with the 911 calls. As per the report, the reason behind the crash is still under investigation.

Divers were able to retrieve parts of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV helicopter after it fell apart midair and plunged into the water.

The chopper was built in 2004 and had an airworthiness certificate issued in 2016 that was good until 2029.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were on the scene and heading the investigation. He also noted that the aircraft was not under the supervision of air traffic controllers on the ground at the time of the crash.

Condolences For The Family

The German industrial conglomerate Siemens confirmed that Escobar worked for the company as head of rail infrastructure at its mobility division. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustín Escobar and his family lost their lives,” Siemens said in a statement, as per The Guardian.

Camprubi, Escobar’s wife, was a global manager at an energy technology company.