[Image: SteveNorrisTV / X]
A sightseeing trip turned into an unspeakable tragedy on Thursday when Agustin Escobar, the Spanish CEO of one of the world’s tech heavyweights, his wife, and their three young kids were killed in a catastrophic helicopter crash off Manhattan.
That’s right, the whole family went down together.
Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their children – just 4, 5, and 11 years old – were aboard a tourist chopper for what should’ve been a magical spin over New York City. But in a matter of minutes, it turned into a nosedive into the Hudson River. No survivors. The 36-year-old pilot, still unnamed, also died on impact.
A haunting picture soon appeared on social media, showing the family posing in front of the helicopter minutes before the tragedy.
Escobar helmed Siemens’ Spanish division, no small role, considering the company’s global clout.
Escobar had only recently stepped into the CEO role in November 2022 but had spent almost 30 years at Siemens. The guy was practically part of the corporate furniture.
“With Agustin Escobar, we have the best possible successor to lead, from now on, the company in Spain,” Escobar’s predecessor Miguel Angel Lopez said back then. “In recent years, his work has been key to Siemens’ success in the field of mobility and transport.”
The family had flown in from Barcelona and were staying at the Hotel Riu Plaza, according to the Daily Beast.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch laid out the timeline: the Bell 206 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, took off from Manhattan’s downtown heliport at around 3PM.
Roughly 15 minutes later, chaos. 911 lines blew up with reports of a helicopter slamming into the river.
The video of the crash is straight-up chilling. One moment, the chopper’s in the sky; the next, it’s disintegrating midair, cartwheeling into the Hudson upside down. No time to react and no chance of survival.
BREAKING: 6 people killed in Hudson River helicopter crash – APpic.twitter.com/G5NbjZVzV0
— BNO News (@BNONews) April 10, 2025
Divers swarmed Pier 40 within minutes. Four victims were pronounced dead on the scene. The remaining two, who were critically injured, died at the hospital.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the aircraft was in the “Special Flight Rules Area” when it crashed, meaning, yep, no air traffic control.
“Several minutes prior to entering the Special Flight Rules Area, Air Traffic Control from LaGuardia airport was providing support,” he posted on X. “The FAA will have investigators on site tonight and we are also launching a Safety Review Team later tonight.”
Michael Roth, CEO of New York Helicopter Tours, told the New York Post he was “devastated.” But even he’s baffled.
“The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, [is] that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,” he said. “And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business. 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.”
As rescue crews continued working the grim scene, a wave of global shock followed. Jersey City’s mayor’s office announced it is working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate the cause of the crash.
[Sources: Daily Beast& BBC & NYPost]
