Tourist Helicopter in Fatal New York Crash Lacked Flight Recorders: NTSB

The NTSB also said that ‘no onboard video recorders or camera recorders have been recovered.’

A National Transportation Safety Board team surveys the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River near Jersey City, N.J., on April 10, 2025. Courtesy of the NTSB

While divers continue to use “side-scanning sonar” to search the waters of the Hudson River for wreckage from the tourist helicopter crash last week that killed six people, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on April 12 that the aircraft was not equipped with flight recorders.

“The helicopter was not equipped with any flight recorders. No onboard video recorders or camera recorders have been recovered, and none of the helicopter avionics onboard recorded information that could be used for the investigation,” the NTSB wrote in an April 12 investigation update.

The agency said the helicopter, a Bell 206 L-4, had its last major inspection on March 1. On April 10, the day the crash occurred, the helicopter had completed seven tour flights, and the accident happened during its eighth flight, according to the NTSB.

New York Police Department divers are still searching for the helicopter’s main rotor, main gear box, tail rotor, and a large portion of the tail boom, using side-scanning sonar to identify potential wreckage locations. The recovery operations are continuing on April 13, the NTSB said.

So far, divers have recovered the main fuselage, including the cockpit and cabin, the forward portion of the tail boom, the horizontal stabilizer finlets, and the vertical fin. The NTSB said some of the recovered parts will be sent to its laboratories in Washington for further inspection.

The agency said its investigators met with representatives from the helicopter’s operator, New York Helicopter Charter Inc., to review its operational records, policies and procedures, and safety management systems, and the pilot’s experience. The NTSB will also inspect two similar helicopters.

The Federal Aviation Administration, Bell Helicopter, and Rolls Royce are contributing to the investigation. The NTSB said it will release more information as it becomes available.

Six people died after the helicopter careened into the Hudson River just off Manhattan on April 10. The incident occurred at 3:17 p.m. in the vicinity of the West Side Highway and Spring Street on Manhattan’s west side, according to the New York Police Department.

A National Transportation Safety Board team member surveys the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, N.J., on April 10, 2025. Courtesy of NTSB

Agustín Escobar, CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, the train transportation arm of German-based technology company Siemens, and his family were among the six helicopter occupants who died in the crash, according to a company spokesperson.

His wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children, ages 4, 5, and 11, also died along with the 36-year-old pilot of the aircraft.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, said on April 11 that the pilot, Seankese Johnson—a U.S. Navy veteran—earned his commercial pilot license in 2023 and had accumulated about 800 flight hours by March.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.