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Helicopter successful deadly Hudson River clang broke isolated successful midair, preliminary NTSB study finds
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary study connected April's Hudson River chopper crash that killed six people.
The six-page study sheds caller airy connected what precisely happened successful the clang of the circuit chopper that killed a family of 5 from Spain, including 3 children, arsenic good arsenic the pilot.
Agustin Escobar Canadas, an enforcement astatine German concern conglomerate Siemens, and his household were connected a sightseeing circuit when something went catastrophically wrong 18 minutes into the trip.
The victims of the Hudson River chopper clang successful NYC person been identified arsenic Siemens enforcement Agustin Escobar and his family.
New York Helicopter Tours
What's successful the report
The NTSB study offers a elaborate timeline of the helicopter's formation and route. The Bell 206L-4 chopper operated by New York Helicopter Tours took disconnected from the Wall Street Heliport astatine 2:58 p.m., flew to the Statue of Liberty, and past flew up the eastbound broadside of the Hudson River conscionable past the George Washington Bridge wherever it turned astir and started flying southbound on the Jersey broadside of the river.
At astir 3:15, the chopper was flying astatine an altitude of betwixt 625 to 650 feet earlier it accrued altitude to 675 feet earlier plunging into the river, the study says. The main assemblage of the chopper had moved side-to-side and the process roar someway failed, breaking disconnected wholly from the main assemblage of the helicopter.
According to the NTSB's report, "several witnesses described proceeding respective large 'bangs' emanating from the chopper earlier it broke up and descended into the river."
CBS News aviation expert and erstwhile NTSB seat Robert Sumwalt tells CBS News New York the information that the process broke disconnected archetypal could springiness investigators immoderate clues to enactment connected arsenic to however the calamity happened.
The chopper came isolated midair, study finds
The NTSB released a bid of images it says shows the tourer chopper breaking isolated successful midair earlier crashing into the Hudson River connected April 10, 2025.
National Transportation Safety Board
The study says the chopper came isolated successful midair successful 3 large sections, including the fuselage with engine, the main rotor system, and the process boom. The NTSB released a bid of blurry images which it says shows the chopper breaking up into those 3 main pieces.
The study points retired the chopper didn't person immoderate video oregon information signaling devices, but said pictures of the aviator conscionable earlier takeoff showed helium was wearing sunglasses that could grounds audio and video. Those sunglasses, however, person not been recovered.
What the study does not uncover is what caused that process roar to interruption off.
Read the report
Tim McNicholas is simply a newsman for CBS News New York. He joined the squad successful September 2022 aft moving successful Chicago, Indianapolis, Toledo and Hastings, Nebraska.
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