The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces on April 13, 2025, that New York Helicopter Tours, the company responsible for a tragic helicopter crash into the Hudson River on April 10, is immediately ceasing operations, just hours after Senator Chuck Schumer calls for the suspension of the company’s license and urges surprise inspections of all New York City helicopter tour operators. The crash, which claims the lives of six people, including a Spanish family of five and the pilot, prompts a rigorous investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with divers still searching for critical helicopter parts in the Hudson River that could reveal the cause of the disaster. Meanwhile, in a separate incident, authorities release the names of six victims of a plane crash in New York State on April 12, including former MIT soccer star Karenna Groff and her family, highlighting a week of aviation tragedies in the region.
The Hudson River crash occurs at 3:17 p.m. on April 10, when a Bell 206 LongRanger IV, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, plunges upside down into the river near Jersey City, just off Hoboken, New Jersey. The helicopter, on its eighth flight of the day, takes off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at 2:59 p.m., flies north to the George Washington Bridge, and turns south along the Jersey side of the river before breaking apart midair. Video evidence shows the chopper’s rotor blades and tail boom detaching, leading to a catastrophic descent into the 50-degree water. All six on board perish, including Siemens executive Agustín Escobar, his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, their three children aged 4, 8, and 10, and the pilot, 36-year-old Seankese Johnson, a former Navy SEAL with 788 hours of flight experience. The family, visiting from Spain to celebrate Camprubí’s 40th birthday, is in New York for Escobar’s business trip, with the 8-year-old’s birthday set for the following day.
New York Helicopter Tours, which leases the 2004-built helicopter from Louisiana-based Meridian Helicopters, has a troubled history. In 2013, one of its Bell 206 helicopters makes an emergency landing in the Hudson after a maintenance error causes an engine lubrication anomaly, though the pilot and passengers—a family of four Swedes—survive unharmed. In 2015, another helicopter experiences a hard landing in New Jersey after hovering 20 feet in the air, with an FAA inspector noting possible corrosion and deformed, unairworthy components. The same helicopter had previously crashed in Chile in 2010. Financially, the company faces challenges, having gone through bankruptcy in the past eight years and currently facing lawsuits over alleged debts totaling over $1.4 million for non-payment of a helicopter lease and $83,000 for a defaulted loan. Despite this history, some passengers, like Jerry Klepadlo of Westchester, report positive experiences, with Klepadlo noting a smooth flight on the same helicopter just days before the crash, describing the company as professional and expressing his condolences.
The NTSB, leading the investigation, reports on April 13 that the helicopter lacks flight recorders, video, or camera recorders, and none of its avionics provide data for the investigation, complicating efforts to determine the cause. Divers recover the cockpit, cabin, and parts of the tail boom, which are sent to NTSB laboratories in Washington, D.C., for inspection, but the main rotor, gearbox, and tail rotor remain missing, with side-scanning sonar aiding the search. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy urges the public to submit photos or videos, noting their importance in past investigations like the 2019 Ketchikan, Alaska, midair collision. Theories under consideration include a possible bird strike, with witnesses reporting a large flock of birds, and mechanical failure, given two FAA airworthiness directives from 2022 and 2023 addressing tail rotor drive shaft issues and main rotor blade delamination on Bell 206L models. The helicopter’s last major inspection was on March 1, 2025.
Senator Schumer, speaking on April 13, criticizes the helicopter tour industry’s safety record, accusing companies of “cutting corners and putting profits over people,” and calls for the FAA to revoke New York Helicopter Tours’ operating certificate and conduct unannounced “ramp inspections” at other metro-area operators. The FAA responds swiftly, announcing the company’s shutdown and launching a review of its license and safety record, while also planning a helicopter safety panel on April 22 to address risks nationwide. However, the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, a trade group, defends the industry, arguing that Manhattan’s sightseeing helicopters already operate under strict regulations and that a ban would be misguided without investigation results. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, in contrast to Schumer, expresses support for tourism helicopters, stating on April 11 that they are safe and part of the “New York experience.”
The crash reignites long-standing concerns about helicopter safety in New York City, where at least 32 people have died in helicopter accidents between 1977 and 2019. A 2018 crash in the East River, operated by FlyNYON, kills five passengers after a tether snags a fuel switch, leading to tighter regulations on “doors-off” flights. In 2016, New York City caps flights from Manhattan heliports at 30,000 annually, pushing some operators to New Jersey. Critics like Councilwoman Amanda Farías call for a moratorium on non-essential helicopter flights, while residents, such as those in Staten Island, voice concerns over low-flying tour helicopters disrupting neighborhoods. Aviation experts like Brandt Anderson note that once a helicopter’s rotor system detaches, as seen in this crash, there is no way to glide, resulting in an inevitable fall.
As of April 14 reveal that the FAA is intensifying its oversight, with posts on X indicating that the agency’s review of New York Helicopter Tours’ safety record is already underway. The NTSB investigation continues, with no new major findings reported, though Homendy emphasizes on April 13 that “everything is on the table,” including the possibility of fuel issues, as the company’s CEO, Michael Roth, tells The Telegraph the helicopter was returning to refuel before the crash. Roth, visibly emotional, describes the company as “devastated,” noting his wife “hasn’t stopped crying since this afternoon.” President Trump offers condolences via Truth Social on April 10, stating that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his team are investigating, with announcements expected soon.
Historically, helicopter tours have been a polarizing issue in New York City. The Downtown Manhattan Heliport, the busiest commercial helipad in the U.S., handles over 30,000 flights annually, many for tourism. While the Bell 206 is considered reliable with proper maintenance, according to former NTSB investigator Greg Feith, the industry’s safety record remains a concern, with experts like Shawn Pruchnicki of Ohio State University noting its problematic history. The 2025 crash, one of the deadliest in recent years, may finally push for stricter regulations, though the balance between tourism revenue and public safety remains a contentious debate.
