Divers utilizing sonar technology have embarked on a search for critical components of a sightseeing helicopter that tragically broke apart in midair and plunged into the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey on Friday.
All six individuals aboard the helicopter were killed—a family of five from Spain and the pilot, a 36-year-old U.S. Navy veteran with significant military experience in San Diego.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy reported that several vital parts of the helicopter, including the main and rear rotors, main transmission, roof structure, and tail structure, remained missing one day after the crash occurred.
The helicopter went down around 3:15 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after it had departed from a heliport in lower Manhattan.
Witnesses reported seeing the main rotor detach and spin away, with bystander videos capturing parts of the aircraft tumbling through the air.
Homendy noted that investigators had only recently begun their examination of the wreckage, flight logs, and additional materials, refraining from speculating on the cause of the incident.
Despite the challenges posed by the crash, the NTSB has been unaffected by job-cutting measures from the Trump administration, deploying 17 personnel to the crash site, including 10 investigators.
The pilot, Seankese Johnson, transitioned to aviation after serving in the Navy, where he spent several years based in San Diego.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Johnson received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023 and had logged approximately 800 hours of flight time as of March.
Just prior to the fatal flight, he posted a photograph on Facebook of himself piloting a helicopter with Manhattan in the background.
In one of his social media posts from 2023, he mentioned that he was operating a firefighting helicopter.
“Long hours and painstaking work to get to this moment. Thank you for all the love and support from those who’ve helped me get here,” Johnson wrote, reflecting on his journey to becoming a pilot.
Johnson enlisted in the Navy in 2006 and served until 2018, attaining the rank of Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class, as per Defense Department records.
He was stationed on the USS Ronald Reagan from 2007 to 2011 when the carrier was homeported in Coronado, and later served in San Diego from 2011 to 2018 in various units including the Special Warfare Unit and the Coastal Riverine Squadron.
Just before takeoff, Johnson’s passengers—Agustin Escobar, his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three children, Victor (4), Mercedes (8), and Agustin (10)—smiled in front of the helicopter in souvenir photos shared on the tour operator’s website.
Escobar, a 49-year-old executive with the German conglomerate Siemens, had extended a business trip to the U.S. in order to sightseeing in New York City and celebrate significant family milestones.
The day of the crash marked Mercedes’ 9th birthday, and Escobar’s wife was approaching her 40th birthday.
The helicopter involved in the crash was a Bell 206 LongRanger IV, manufactured in 2004.
FAA records reveal that the helicopter had previously experienced a maintenance issue last September related to its transmission assembly.
An entry in the FAA’s Service Difficulty Reporting System noted that the transmission assembly had metal present in the oil, indicating wear and tear, and a bearing within the transmission was found to be flaking.
At the time of the crash, the helicopter had logged a total of 12,728 flight hours, according to FAA records.
image source from：https://timesofsandiego.com/military/2025/04/11/pilot-killed-in-new-york-city-helicopter-crash-was-san-diego-navy-veteran/
