The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported this Thursday that it found evidence of a bird strike before the tourist helicopter carrying a Catalan family (a couple and their three children) crashed into the Hudson River in New York City in April 2025, causing the death of all six people on board (the family and the aircraft pilot).
Read more Santacreu wins the battle for the silver chairs of the Chamber after a very close vote
The accident claimed the life of a family from Barcelona with three children, including Agustín Escobar, executive director of Railway Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, the rail transport division of the German technology company Siemens. On the aircraft were Agustín, his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three children, Agus, 11 years old, Mercè, 8, and Victor, 4. The NTSB confirmed evidence of a bird strike on the Bell 206L-4 tourist helicopter.
The investigation indicates that during the examination of the fuselage and rotor blades, fragments of the foam core of the main rotor blades and a severed bird wing were found on the ground and rooftops, about 600 meters northwest of the debris recovery site.
A specialist from the Smithsonian Feather Identification Lab (National Museum of Natural History) took samples of the remains to identify possible bird remains. Likewise, the NTSB Materials Lab Feather Identification Lab took additional samples from the main rotor blades, where bird remains were also found.
Several witnesses described hearing loud bangs and explosions coming from the helicopter before it broke apart and fell into the river. A surveillance video (with audio) captured the aircraft traveling south before it suddenly separated into three main sections: the fuselage (including the engine), the main rotor system (including the two main rotor blades, transmission, and roof structure), and the tail.
One report includes the testimony of a person who says that, minutes before the accident, they ran past the Newport lighthouse and a large flock of geese took flight. “They were big and there were many. When the helicopter crashed, I immediately thought it was a bird strike.”
Civil lawsuit
The Federal Aviation Administration stated that these aircraft are especially vulnerable to bird strikes because they fly at low altitude. Helicopter collisions with birds are rare but can be devastating.
The relatives of the five members of the Catalan family who died in the accident sued the tour company and its owner for negligence.
The civil lawsuit accuses New York Helicopter Charter and New York Helicopter Tours, operators of the flight, and its owner, Michael Roth, of failing to ensure the helicopter’s maintenance or inspect the rotor blades, which showed deterioration.
Read more Trump will limit the duration of visas for international students to only four years
