NYC helicopter company in fatal Hudson River wreck previously had chopper crash-land
The Big Apple company that operated the doomed tourist helicopter that plunged into the Hudson River Thursday previously crash-landed into the same murky waters.
A chopper belonging to New York Helicopter Charter in June 2013 was carrying four Swedish tourists when it lost power and made an emergency landing.
The pilot and four family members all miraculously survived – with no injuries reported – after the aviator deployed the aircraft’s pontoons and safely landed on the river.
CEO Michael Roth told the Wall Street Journal at the time that the chopper underwent daily routine inspections but had “no clue why” the aircraft malfunctioned mid-flight.
Now, 12 years later, Roth is expressing his devastation over the tragic events that killed a pilot and a family-of-five vacationing from Spain — claiming he has “no clue” what happened.
“I’m absolutely devastated,” Roth, who was visibly shaken, told The Post after the crash.
“The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter. And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business,” he continued.
“The only thing I could guess – I got no clue – is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don’t know.”
Chilling footage captured the Bell 206 helicopter “split in half” mid-air and plummeting into the frigid waters near Pier 40 near the Hoboken border of New Jersey around 3:15 p.m., prompting a large-scale rescue mission.
The head of the Spanish branch of the technology company Siemens and his family were identified as five of the victims who were killed. The pilot identity has not been announced.
Agustin Escobar, president and CEO of Siemens in Spain, his wife and their three children had just arrived in the Big Apple from Barcelona earlier in the day, law enforcement sources said.
It remains unclear what caused the crash.
