Tech CEO from Spain among those killed in helicopter crash
Tech CEO identified among those killed in helicopter crash
Sources confirmed to FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso that Agustin Escobar, an executive from Spain, was sightseeing in New York City when the helicopter he was aboard crashed.
NEW JERSEY - A tourist helicopter crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon, killing all six people on board, including a family visiting from Spain and the pilot.
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - APRIL 10: Emergency crews pull wreckage of the helicopter out from the Hudson River after it crashed into the Hudson River near lower Manhattan, on April 10, 2025 in New York, United States. All 6 passengers dead from helico
Witnesses say they saw the helicopter "falling apart" in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. There were also reports of the propeller spinning without the aircraft as it fell.
Who were the victims in the crash?
Debris floats in the water at the scene where a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey, US, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. A helicopter crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, killing all on board, according to New York Ci
What we know:
Victims of helicopter crash
What we know:
The victims of the helicopter crash have been identified as Agustin Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, a global manager at an energy technology company, their 9-year-old daughter, Mercedes Escobar Camprubí, and the pilot, Seanqese Johnson, 36.
Agustin Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain and his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, a global manager at an energy technology company.
Mercedes would have turned 9 on Friday.
Photo shows Seanqese Johnson, 36, who was killed in the helicopter crash.
Tech CEO identified among those killed in helicopter crash
Sources confirmed to FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso that Agustin Escobar, an executive from Spain, was sightseeing in New York City when the helicopter he was aboard crashed.
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. Meanwhile, Camprubí Montal worked in Barcelona, for energy technology company Siemens Energy for about seven years, including as its global commercialization manager and as a digitalization manager, according to her LinkedIn account.
- MORE: Tech CEO from Spain among those killed in helicopter crash
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"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.
What we don't know:
The identities of the other children have not yet been officially released, but New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Friday morning on Good Day New York that their ages were 4 and 10.
MORE: Blades may have come off tourist helicopter during Hudson River crash
While the identities of the victims are being withheld pending family notification, officials have confirmed they were a family from Spain. The full nature of the trip remains unclear, and further details are still being investigated.
Helicopter crash flight path
ANKARA, TURKIYE - APRIL 11: An infographic titled "Helicopter crashes into Hudson River" created in Ankara, Turkiye on April 11, 2025. (Photo by Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Timeline:
According to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the aircraft, a Bell 206 flying for New York Helicopters, took off from a Lower Manhattan heliport at 2:59 p.m. It flew along the Manhattan shoreline before losing control near Pier A Park in Hoboken at approximately 3:08 p.m.
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - APRIL 10: A helicopter is seen floating after it crashed into the Hudson River near lower Manhattan, on April 10, 2025 in New York, United States. All 6 passengers dead from helicopter crash into Hudson River near lower Manh
Witness Bruce Wall described seeing the helicopter "falling apart" midair, with the tail and propeller detaching. The propeller continued spinning as the aircraft plummeted.
FDNY divers recovered two victims immediately, and two others were taken to local hospitals, where they later succumbed to their injuries.
‘How did this happen?’
Police and firefighters work on the site after a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River on April 10, 2025 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images)
The only evidence at this point in the investigation is eyewitness accounts and bystander video, both of which suggest that the helicopter’s rotor blades – and maybe even the entire assembly – separated mid-flight, with catastrophic consequences.
According to The New York Times, New York Helicopter Charter has a history of past incidents.
In 2015, one of its aircraft apparently crashed while hovering just 20 feet off the ground after takeoff in northern New Jersey.
Two years earlier, another helicopter lost power during a sightseeing tour and was forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River near Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Michael Roth, the CEO of NY Helicopter Tours said the crash was devastation.
"I’m a father and a grandfather and to have children on there, I’m devastated. I’m absolutely devastated. And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years in the helicopter business," Roth said.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.