NYC helicopter crash that killed 6, including vacationing family, showed signs of bird strikes, NTSB says

The remains of several geese were found on the wreckage of a sightseeing helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River last year in New York City and killed 6 people, investigators said Thursday.The National Transportation Safety Board described evidence and witness reports that suggest the helicopter struck several birds before it plummeted into the river on April 10, 2025.The Federal Aviation Administration has said that helicopters are especially vulnerable to bird strikes because they fly at low altitudes.Helicopter bird strikes are unusual, but they can be devastating.The victims of last year’s accident included a Siemens business executive from Spain, his family and the pilot.

Passengers Agustin Escobar, 49; his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39; and their three children, Victor, 4; Mercedes, 8; and Agustin, 10, all died.The pilot was Seankese Johnson, 36, a US Navy veteran who received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023.The crash renewed safety concerns about the popular sightseeing flights and prompted New Jersey’s governor to ask for additional restrictions on nonessential helicopter flights.The “miracle on the Hudson” highlighted the danger of bird strikes when a US Airways jet hit a flock of birds and lost power in both engines shortly after takeoff in 2009.

Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was hailed as a hero after he landed the powerless plane in the Hudson River and all 155 people on board were rescued.In last year’s crash, witnesses described seeing the helicopter’s tail and main rotor breaking away and smoke pouring from the spinning chopper before it slammed into the water.The helicopter took off from a downtown heliport that afternoon and flew north along the Manhattan skyline before heading south toward the Statue of Liberty.Less than 18 minutes into the flight, parts of the aircraft were seen tumbling into the water.Rescue boats circled the submerged aircraft within minutes of impact and recovered the bodies from the w...