Family speaks out after Hudson River helicopter crash: 'They left together'

NEW YORK - As more details emerge, members of the victims’ families are coming forward while investigators continue working to determine what went wrong during Thursday’s helicopter crash in the Hudson River that killed a family of five celebrating a birthday and a career pilot.The family says they are now working to bring the victims' bodies home to Spain. 

Mayor Eric Adams called the helicopter crash an "unimaginable tragedy" and said New Yorkers stand united with the victims’ family in their grief. 

He emphasized that while "no words can fill the void," the city will continue to support the loved ones of those lost, including the family of the pilot, Sean Johnson.

Skip to: 'What went wrong?'

Prior to the press conference, the family had visited the crash site to place flowers in the water near the Jersey City side.

Authorities are now focusing on the moments leading up to the crash and working to determine the cause of the incident.

‘They left with a smile on their faces’

"They left together. They left without suffering. And they left with a smile on their faces. And that’s important for us as a family," Joan Camprubí, the brother of Mercè Camprubí Montal said.

"We are overwhelmed by the massive condolences we received, and this is probably because the Escobar Company family was a really loved family."

He added, "What we want to remind and honor [is] the happiness and the smile forever." 

The family says they are now working to bring the victims' bodies home to Spain. 

"We want to move the bodies as soon as possible... to rest in peace together in our place."

Who were the victims?

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 three children: Victor, Augustine, and 8-year-old Mercedes Escobar Camprubí, who would have turned 9 the day after the crash; and the pilot, 36-year-old Seanqese Johnson.

Mercedes would have turned 9 on Friday.

Photos taken just before takeoff showed the family smiling as they boarded the helicopter in lower Manhattan.

Students at the Jesuits of Sant Ignasi school in Barcelona’s upscale Sarria neighborhood wept and embraced their parents Friday afternoon, after learning of the deaths of their friends and classmates, as seen by an Associated Press reporter.

The school held a minute of silence in the morning, Oleguer Bertran, an 18-year-old student, told the AP.

A father at the school’s entrance said his son had been friends with one of children who perished, and is completely devastated. The man declined to be named.

Agustín Escoba, family

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.

"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.

Seanqese Johnson, pilot

Seanqese Johnson, 36 was the pilot killed in the crash on Thursday.

Johnson was a navy seal who often shared career highlights as a helicopter pilot on social media. In March, he updated his Facebook profile photo to a screengrab showing him at the controls of a helicopter, with Freedom Tower and the Manhattan skyline in the background.

In summer 2023, he announced he was flying a Blackhawk helicopter to help fight wildfires for a Montana-based company.

"Long hours and painstaking work to get to this moment. Thank you for all the love and support from those who’ve helped me get here," he wrote.

Timeline:

According to NYPD 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.

"The propeller just exploded and scattered, right," one witness said. "After that, we saw the plane just spiraling down like, going from left to right, like that, and we were like, ‘Oh my God.’"

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.

'What went wrong?'

Officials confirmed that the preliminary cause of the crash had not yet been determined and emphasized that they would not speculate. 

They said the current focus is on collecting perishable evidence from the accident site. Investigators have recovered the rotor but are still searching for the main rotor and the tail rotor. Officials urged anyone who may have seen anything unusual to come forward and share that information.

How deep is the Hudson River?

Officials say the water at the crash site was only about five feet deep and rocky. 

Divers recovered debris roughly 75 feet from shore, including items considered "not normal."

‘What could have caused the helicopter crash?’

Little is known about the moments leading up to the incident, and the NTSB and FAA are continuing their investigation to determine the cause.

Witnesses described seeing 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.

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. 

Crime and Public Safety