Family-of-five k!lled in New York tourist helicopter crash ‘were celebrating one of the young children’s birthday’: Tragic twist as footage emerges of rotor blade spinning into Hudson River

The family-of-five k!!lled in the New York City helicopter crash were believed to have been on vacation to celebrate the birthday of one of their young children.

Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal and their three children aged four, eight and ten were k!!lled when their sightseeing chopper plummeted into the Hudson River at 3.15pm on Thursday.

The family were on vacation in New York to celebrate the birthday of one of their daughters, according to Spanish outlet Antena3. She would have turned nine today.

They had just arrived from Barcelona and embarked on their first day touring the Big Apple, taking a scenic trip in the helicopter around the Statue of Liberty and up to the George Washington Bridge.

The tragic twist emerged as terrifying new footage appears to show the cause of the tragedy.

A rotor blade can be seen plummeting into the water, with aviation experts saying that this likely occurred because the main rotor blades separated from the aircraft and sliced the tail.

‘From the footage, it appears that the main rotor struck the body of the helicopter, cutting off the tail of the helicopter, which created an unrecoverable event,’ former military aviator and attorney Jim Brauchle of Motley Rice LLC told DailyMail.com.

‘The two main causes of this phenomenon are mechanical failure or excessive maneuvering. Still, a full investigation is needed to understand why this tragedy occurred.

‘Having previously represented the families of tourists k!!lled during a helicopter tour over the Hudson River, my heart goes out to the families at this catastrophic time.’

The family were on vacation in New York to celebrate the birthday of one of their children, according to Spanish newspaper El Diario. Heartbreaking photos showed the Escobar family posing on the helipad and inside the aircraft before the crash

One of the Escobar children sits in the helicopter before the crash

Harrowing footage captured the moment the helicopter rotor blade flew off and splashed into the Hudson River after the deadly crash

Another expert told Fox 5 that in the case that the separating rotor blades sliced off the aircraft’s tail boom, the flight would have been unrecoverable.

‘If that articulating head actually separated from the aircraft, the aircraft was doomed. There’s no possibility of that aircraft ever having made a normal type of landing. It was going to crash,’ said Tristani.

‘In this particular case though, when you throw a blade, one blade or the entire head, no, you’re just a falling brick.’

Michael Roth, 71, who owns New York Helicopter which provided the tour and the chopper, said the aircraft was running out of fuel before it crashed.

‘He [the pilot] 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 Telegraph.

Roth said he was devastated by the crash and agreed with other experts that the video appears to show the main rotor blades had broken off.

‘The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,’ he told the New York Post.

‘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.’

A ‘catastrophic mechanical failure’ left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter, said Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps.

It is possible the helicopter’s main rotors struck the tail boom, breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free fall, Green said.

‘They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened,’ Green said. ‘There’s no indication they had any control over the craft. No pilot could have prevented that accident once they lost the lifts. It’s like a rock falling to the ground. It’s heartbreaking.’

It comes as it was revealed that the helicopter’s unidentified pilot, 36, radioed base to warn that they were running out of fuel just before the tragedy struck. He was also k!!lled in the crash.

Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal and their three children, aged four, eight and ten, took photos just before the crash

Aviation experts explained that the crash likely occurred because the helicopter’s (pictured before crashing) main rotor blades separated from the aircraft and sliced the tail

Witnesses said they saw the chopper ‘split in half’ before it went down near Pier 40, with one man reporting the stricken aircraft making what sounded like a ‘sonic boom’

Heartbreaking photos showed the Escobar parents and their kids, aged four, eight and ten, posing on the helipad and inside the aircraft before the crash.

The aircraft was operated by New York Helicopter, a local tour company. The chopper appeared to be a N216MH – a Bell 206L-4, according to Flight Radar.

The Bell 206 flew for approximately 16 minutes before going down into the water.  It took off from the Wall Street Heliport and did a circle near the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge at about 1000 feet.

Dramatic video showed the helicopter sinking into the water as emergency crews rushed to the scene.

Witnesses said they saw the chopper ‘split in half’ before it went down near Pier 40, with one man reporting the stricken aircraft making what sounded like a ‘sonic boom.’

‘Oh my god. Oh my gosh. Oh my goodness. Oh my gosh,’ said a terrified witness who watched the helicopter fall into the river.

Bruce Wall, a witness near the shoreline of Jersey City, New Jersey, said he saw the helicopter ‘falling apart’ in midair, with the tail and main rotor coming off. The main rotor was still spinning without the helicopter as it fell.

Dani Horbiak was at her Jersey City home when she heard what sounded like ‘several gunshots in a row, almost, in the air.’ She looked out her window and saw the chopper ‘splash in several pieces into the river.’

The family had just arrived from Barcelona and embarked on their first day touring the Big Apple

Emergency responders were seen late Thursday night pulling the remnants of the destroyed helicopter from the murky water of the Hudson River

Devastating photos show debris from the helicopter tour floating in the Hudson River including a pink shoe

The helicopter was spinning uncontrollably with ‘a bunch of smoke coming out’ before it slammed into the water, said Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey.

On air traffic control radio, an NYPD helicopter pilot can be heard saying, ‘Be advised, you do have an aircraft down. Holland Tunnel. Please keep your eyes open for anybody in the water.’

About five minutes after that, someone asks, ‘Hey Finest,’ a reference to the NYPD’s call sign, ‘what’s going on over there by the Holland Tunnel?’ – ‘The ship went down,’ someone else responds.

Emergency responders were seen late Thursday night pulling the remnants of the destroyed helicopter from the murky water of the Hudson River. Photos showed a crane pulling mangled clumps of metal out of the river.

Jersey City Mayor Steven explained in a post on X that major parts of the aircraft have not yet been recovered, so dive teams will scour the Hudson River for the parts on Friday.

‘Recovery operations have been secured for the night. Major parts of the aircraft have not been recovered so dive operations by the NYPD and NJSP will resume tomorrow morning,’ he said.

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.

At 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. The water was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Other footage showed the chopper ‘flying erratically’ just before it fell into the water, while other clips showed pieces of the aircraft were seen flying off.

‘Our hearts go out to the families of those who were onboard,’ Mayor Eric Adams said. ‘All six have been removed from the water, and sadly all six victims have been pronounced deceased.’

Emergency responders enter the water after the helicopter crash. The National Transportation Safety Board has announced it launched a ‘go team’ to investigate

‘Our hearts go out to the families of those who were onboard,’ Mayor Eric Adams said. ‘All six have been removed from the water, and sadly all six victims have been pronounced deceased.’

Rashmi Kamkeri, a 30-year-old engineer, was working remotely from her apartment in Newport Park when she heard a deafening crash about 3:19 p.m. on Thursday.

‘It was horrifying,’ Kamkeri told DailyMail.com. ‘I thought it was thunder and ten seconds later I saw the helicopter 10 feet above the water falling and then it made a big splash and went underneath the water.

‘I panicked… then saw a piece of the helicopter fall into the water. The Waterway boat was moving and then it took a turn.

‘I was almost in tears praying that someone would come and save them. I wished there would be someone who survives. I am so sad.’

Anna was walking her rescue dog Archie along the West Side Highway in the rain when she saw the emergency responders and lights across the river on the New Jersey side.

‘I saw the helicopter submerged in the water and then there was a lot of commotion,’ she told DailyMail.com.

Another witness said: ‘One of my children said, “what’s that sound?” I told him I didn’t know. My other child said, “Do you think it was an earthquake?” I said, “no we would feel it.”

‘My other child asked, “Do you think a building pancaked?”‘

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said that major parts of the aircraft have not yet been recovered, so dive teams will scour the Hudson River for the parts on Friday

Rashmi Kamkeri (pictured), a 30-year-old engineer, was working remotely from her apartment in Newport Park when she heard a deafening crash about 3.19pm on Thursday

Escobar worked for the tech company Siemens for more than 27 years, most recently as global CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, according to his LinkedIn account. In late 2022 he briefly became president and CEO of Siemens Spain.

In a post about the position, he thanked his family, ‘my endless source of energy and happiness, for their unconditional support, love… and patience.’

Escobar regularly posted about the importance of sustainability in the rail industry and often traveled internationally for work, including journeying to India and the UK in the past month. He also was vice president of the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain since 2023.

‘We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustin Escobar and his family lost their lives. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all their loved ones,’ Siemens said in a statement early Friday.

Camprubí Montal worked in Barcelona, Spain, for energy technology company Siemens Energy for about seven years, including as global commercialisation manager and as a digitalisation manager, according to her LinkedIn account.

Spanish regional government officials said the family resided in Barcelona.

‘(I am) dismayed by the tragic helicopter accident in the Hudson River in New York which cost the lives of six people, five of which were members of a Barcelona family,’ Catalan regional president Salvador Illa wrote on X.

Another regional official said Agustin Escobar was originally from Puertollano, a town in central Spain.

‘I want to express my sorrow for the traffic helicopter accident in New York that claimed the lives of Agustín Escobar and his family,’ Castilla La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page wrote on X.

‘Agustín is native of Puertollano and in 2023 we named him a Favorite Son of Castilla La Mancha.’

The skies above the Hudson River are often filled with both planes and helicopters that both fly private recreational, commercial and tourists flights.

Manhattan has multiple helipads that are used by people, including business executives, to get across the Metropolitan area.

At least 32 have been k!!led in helicopter crashes in New York City since 1977.

The most recent crash happened in 2018 when a chopper hit crashed into the East River, leaving five passengers dead.

The chopper crashed on March 11, 2018 when the tail of the aircraft got caught on the fuel shutoff lever, the NTSB said.

All the passengers on board drowned. They were identified as Daniel Thompson, 34, Tristian Hill, 29, Trevor Cadigan, 26, Brian McDaniel, 26, and Carla Vallejos-Blanco, 29.