By Julio Rosa

April 16, 2025

On April 10, 2025, a tragic helicopter crash in the Hudson River near Jersey City claimed the lives of six people, including a family of five from Spain and the pilot. Five days later, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency order grounding New York Helicopter Charter Inc., the operator of the doomed sightseeing flight, effectively halting its operations. The Jersey City Times reported on April 16 that this decision marks a significant response to the deadliest helicopter crash in New York City since 2018, raising questions about the safety of tourist helicopter tours over the Hudson River.

The Crash: A Catastrophic Failure

The Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV, operated by New York Helicopter Charter Inc. and leased from Louisiana-based Meridian Helicopters, took off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at 2:59 p.m. on April 10. Carrying Siemens executive Agustín Escobar, his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, their three children (ages 4, 8, and 10), and pilot Seankese “Sean” Johnson, a 36-year-old Navy veteran, the helicopter was on its sixth flight of the day. After flying north along Manhattan’s Hudson River shoreline, it turned south near the George Washington Bridge. At approximately 3:17 p.m., the aircraft suffered an in-flight breakup, with witnesses reporting loud noises like “gunshots” as the main rotor and tail rotor detached. The helicopter plunged upside-down into the 50-degree waters near Newport, Jersey City, close to the Holland Tunnel ventilation shaft.

Video footage captured the harrowing descent, showing debris scattering as the rotorless chopper crashed. All six aboard were killed—four pronounced dead at the scene and two children declared dead at Jersey City Medical Center. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) noted the helicopter lacked flight recorders, complicating the investigation into the cause, which remains under review. Witnesses described a “catastrophic failure,” with some speculating engine or mechanical issues, though no official cause has been confirmed.

FAA’s Emergency Order: Why It Happened

On April 13, New York Helicopter Charter voluntarily suspended its flights, a decision made by its director of operations, Jason Costello, after discussions with the FAA. However, the company fired Costello shortly afterward, prompting the FAA to issue an emergency order on April 14 grounding the operator entirely. The agency cited the firing as evidence that the company lacked a qualified director of operations, violating federal law. “The FAA is taking this action in part because after the company’s director of operations voluntarily shut down flights, he was fired,” acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau stated.

The FAA also launched a comprehensive review of New York Helicopter’s operations, known as a Certificate Holder Evaluation Program (CHEP), to assess compliance with safety regulations and identify risks. The agency warned that failure to surrender the company’s air-carrier certificate could result in fines of up to $17,062 per day. This grounding follows calls from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who urged the FAA to revoke the company’s operating permits and ramp up inspections of other helicopter tour operators, accusing some of “cutting corners and putting profits over people.”

A Troubled Operator

New York Helicopter Charter, led by CEO Michael Roth, has faced scrutiny before. The company, which offers sightseeing tours for as little as $114 per person, was already under financial strain, with court records showing a helicopter repossessed in December 2024 over unpaid lease payments of $1.4 million. Past incidents raise further concerns: in 2013, a company helicopter made an emergency landing in the Hudson after a power loss, and in 2015, another crash-landed in New Jersey due to an “unairworthy” drive shaft previously involved in a 2010 Chile crash. While these incidents didn’t result in fatalities, they suggest a pattern of maintenance or operational issues. The Bell 206 involved in the 2025 crash, built in 2004, had a maintenance issue with its transmission assembly in September 2024 and had logged 12,728 flight hours, per FAA records.

Critics argue the company may have prioritized profits over safety, a claim echoed by former Department of Transportation inspector Mary Schiavo, who told CNN that helicopter tour operators often face pressure to maximize flights. The NTSB’s finding that the crashed helicopter was on its eighth tour of the day—despite sources citing it as the sixth—fuels speculation about overuse or inadequate maintenance. However, Roth denied knowledge of specific issues, stating, “I have no information whatsoever,” and expressed devastation as a father and grandfather.

Jersey City’s Safety Concerns

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a 2025 gubernatorial candidate, has long voiced concerns about helicopter traffic over the Hudson, citing noise and safety risks in a busy, heavily trafficked area. Following the crash, Fulop told ABC News, “Hopefully, this brings some more attention to it, that beyond just noise, you have real safety concerns.” He noted that the Jersey City Police Department is assisting the NTSB, with the main fuselage recovered and stored at an Army Corps of Engineers facility. Dive operations continue to retrieve remaining debris, including the main rotor system, which could reveal the crash’s cause.

The crash’s proximity to Jersey City—near River Drive and Newport Parkway—has intensified local opposition to air tourism. Unlike New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who defended helicopter tours as “part of the New York experience” while calling for safety improvements, Fulop and others advocate for stricter regulations or bans on non-essential flights. New York City Councilwoman Amanda Farías echoed this, urging a moratorium on non-essential helicopter flights from city-owned heliports pending investigations.

Broader Implications

The Hudson River crash is the latest in a series of deadly helicopter incidents in New York City, with at least 32 deaths since 1977, including a 2018 East River crash that killed five and a 2009 Hudson collision that killed nine. The FAA’s grounding of New York Helicopter Charter signals a potential turning point, but questions remain about systemic issues in the sightseeing industry. Since 2016, when Manhattan capped heliport flights at 30,000 annually, many operators moved to New Jersey, where oversight may be less stringent. The Eastern Region Helicopter Council claims the industry is tightly regulated, but critics like Schumer argue otherwise, pointing to 20 deaths in Hudson and East River crashes over the past two decades.

The NTSB’s investigation, supported by the FAA, will scrutinize the Bell 206’s maintenance records, pilot training, and compliance with airworthiness directives, such as a 2023 mandate for tail rotor drive shaft testing. The absence of flight recorders complicates matters, relying on physical evidence and witness accounts. Meanwhile, the FAA’s planned helicopter safety panel on April 22, 2025, aims to address broader risks in high-traffic areas like the Hudson.

A Community Mourns

The victims’ loss has reverberated across borders. Escobar and Montal, both Siemens executives, were in New York for a business trip, with their family joining to celebrate Montal’s 40th birthday and their 8-year-old’s upcoming birthday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the tragedy “unimaginable,” while the Spanish Consulate works to repatriate the bodies. Pilot Sean Johnson, a Chicago native and Navy SEAL veteran with 788 flight hours, was praised as an “amazing pilot” by friend Matt Klier. New York City and Jersey City officials, including Adams and Fulop, have expressed condolences, with Adams laying flowers at the crash site.

What’s Next?

The FAA’s emergency order ensures New York Helicopter Charter remains grounded pending its CHEP review, with the company able to appeal within 10 days. The NTSB’s investigation, expected to take months, will determine whether mechanical failure, pilot error, or other factors caused the crash. For now, the tragedy has reignited debate over helicopter tour safety, with Jersey City residents and officials demanding change. As Fulop noted, the crash underscores “real safety concerns” that can no longer be ignored. Whether this leads to stricter regulations or a ban on tourist flights remains uncertain, but the grounding of New York Helicopter Charter is a step toward accountability.

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Sources

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