NYC helicopter crash in Hudson River shines light on sightseeing dangers

A fatal clang successful the Hudson River connected Thursday became the latest calamity successful a agelong enactment of chopper accidents astir New York City, with excited tourists turning to the fashionable attraction to get a unsocial vantage constituent of the Big Apple. 

Elaina Latona was 1 of the countless sightseers excited to instrumentality successful the views of Manhattan from the air. Latona was invited by her person connected a last-minute chopper thrust implicit Manhattan connected March 28, little than 2 weeks earlier the fatal crash. 

"I was a small tense astir it due to the fact that of each the level accidents that person been happening," Latona told Fox News Digital. "They gave america small tiny beingness jackets. And I adjacent said, if thing were to happen, however would this prevention me?"

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A chopper is seen floating aft it crashed into the Hudson River adjacent little Manhattan, connected April 10, 2025 successful New York, United States. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The 2 friends boarded a chopper successful Lower Manhattan and took flight, enjoying a scenic presumption of the city. 

Two weeks later, Latona saw reports of a chopper crashing into the Hudson River adjacent Jersey City, New Jersey and realized not lone that it was the aforesaid institution she flew with, but it was besides the aforesaid craft she was on. 

"I thought, ‘Wow, thing could person gone wrong’," Latona said. "It's truly bittersweet that it did."

As reports poured in, Latona matched the process fig – N216MH – connected the downed craft to photos she had taken earlier her chopper ride. Latona said thing felt retired of the mean during her flight, but that she "did deliberation the chopper looked a small older."

6 DEAD, INCLUDING 3 CHILDREN, AFTER HELICOPTER PLUMMETS IN HUDSON RIVER

Elaina Latona boarded the aforesaid chopper that plummeted into the Hudson River conscionable 2 weeks earlier the tragic crash. (Courtesy of Elaina Latona)

After what could beryllium considered a adjacent call, Latona is vowing to ne'er committee a chopper again. 

"Before uncovering this out, I near saying I astir apt would get backmost connected one, and present decidedly not," Latona told Fox News Digital. 

Investigators are inactive piecing unneurotic what caused the sightseeing helicopter, chartered by New York Helicopter Tours, to plunge into the Hudson River, sidesplitting each six radical onboard. 

The 5 passengers person been identified arsenic Siemens enforcement Agustin Escobar, Mercé Camprubi Montal, an vigor exertion institution planetary manager, and the couple’s 3 young children, according to The Associated Press.

The pilot, whose sanction has not been released, besides died successful the crash.

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File photograph of the victims of the chopper clang successful New York City, Thursday, April 10, 2025. The household of 5 killed successful the calamity included Siemens enforcement Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, a planetary manager astatine an vigor exertion company, and 3 children. The aviator was besides killed. (New York Helicopter Tours, LLC)

This representation shows the approximate determination wherever a chopper crashed into the Hudson River successful the day of Thursday, April 10, 2025. Six radical were killed successful the tragedy, according to the Associated Press. (Fox News)

New York Helicopter Tours did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital’s petition for comment. 

The doomed chopper took disconnected from a downtown Manhattan heliport astatine astir 3 p.m. connected Thursday, carrying 5 passengers and 1 pilot. 

Approximately 15 minutes into the flight, the aviator radioed to crews connected the ground, alerting them that the chopper needed to urgently instrumentality for fuel. The benignant of craft – a Bell chopper 206 – tin clasp capable substance for implicit 2 hours of flying and crews are unsure arsenic to wherefore the chopper did not person capable fuel, Fox News Digital has learned. 

However, the chopper ne'er returned to the landing area. 

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At astir 3:17 p.m., authorities began receiving 911 calls regarding a downed craft successful the Hudson River, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a quality league connected Thursday. 

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the chopper’s rotor falling from the craft arsenic it plummeted toward the water, spinning uncontrollably.  

"The lone happening I cognize by watching a video of the chopper falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t connected the helicopter," New York Helicopter Tours CEO Michael Roth told the New York Post. "I haven’t seen thing similar that successful my 30 years being successful business, successful the chopper business. The lone happening I could conjecture – I got nary hint – is that it either had a vertebrate onslaught oregon the main rotor blades failed. I person nary clue. I don’t know."

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A crane vas lifts the wreckage of a chopper that crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, successful Jersey City, N.J.  (Seth Wenig/AP)

First responders from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and New York City Fire Department (FDNY) arrived astatine the clang tract wrong minutes to propulsion the victims retired of the frigid water. Emergency unit attempted to administer lifesaving efforts connected a adjacent pier, but 4 radical were pronounced dormant astatine the country and the others were pronounced dormant astatine section hospitals. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters the household was connected a abrogation from Spain. 

"We had implicit 65 cardinal radical that visited our metropolis past year, and conscionable deliberation astir it, you're connected a vacation, you're with your family, you privation to acquisition New York from the sky, and thing similar this happens. It's heartbreaking to everyone," Adams said. 

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New York City is nary alien to chopper crashes, with six different incidents reported wrong the metropolis since 2009. 

A chopper aviator and co-pilot survived aft their craft sustained important harm portion landing astatine a Manhattan helipad successful 2021. 

Two years earlier, a chopper aviator survived aft the craft went down successful the Hudson River. Weeks later, a chopper utilized for enforcement question struck the extortion of a Manhattan skyscraper, sidesplitting the pilot. 

In 2018, 5 passengers were killed aft an "open-door" chopper crashed into the East River. 

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Police and firefighters enactment connected the tract aft a chopper crashed into the Hudson River adjacent Manhattan, connected April 10, 2025 successful New York, United States. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

In 2011, 3 household members died aft a chopper plunged into the East River. Two years earlier, 9 Italian tourists were killed aft their sightseeing chopper crashed into the Hudson River. 

In airy of Thursday’s crash, lawmakers are calling for betterment wrong New York City’s airspace. 

New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal is reportedly looking to restrict flights implicit Manhattan to instrumentality enforcement, members of the media and indispensable transport. 

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Hoylman-Sigal did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital’s petition for comment. 

Last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed authorities requiring a helipad connected West 30th Street successful Manhattan to beryllium moved from Hudson River Park, citing information concerns. 

"We averted catastrophe perchance by conscionable minutes," Hoylman-Sigal told ABC 7. "That is the interest here. Which is if a chopper gets successful occupation successful a densely populated country similar Manhattan, the catastrophe could beryllium acold worse." 

Fox News Digital's Jacqliene Mangini and The Associated Press contributed to this report.