Two members of the Spanish family killed when their tour helicopter crashed into New York's Hudson River were still alive when rescuers pulled them from the icy water. Agustin Escobar, a Siemens executive from Spain, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, their three children—daughters aged four and five, and an 11-year-old son—were killed in the crash on Thursday.
The 36-year-old pilot, whose identity has yet to be released, also died. It has now been revealed that divers found two of the passengers still alive when they were retrieved from the frigid river. Police have launched an investigation into the incident as the exact cause of the crash remains unclear.
Painful Final Moments
If they were conscious after the violent impact with the freezing river, the two family members likely suffered unimaginable trauma and pain in their final moments. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the identities of the two relatives—who were later pronounced dead at the hospital—have not been released by authorities.
The family had traveled to New York on vacation to celebrate the birthday of one of their young daughters, as reported by the Spanish news outlet Antena3.
They had only just landed from Barcelona and were spending their first day exploring the city with a scenic helicopter tour that included views of the Statue of Liberty and extended up to the George Washington Bridge.
This heartbreaking detail comes as chilling new video footage has surfaced, possibly revealing what caused the crash.
A rotor blade is seen plunging into the river, and aviation experts believe this likely happened when the main rotor blades detached from the helicopter and struck the tail section.
"From the footage, it appears that the main rotor struck the body of the helicopter, cutting off the tail of the helicopter, which created an unrecoverable event," former military aviator and attorney Jim Brauchle of Motley Rice LLC told the Daily Mail.
"The two main causes of this phenomenon are mechanical failure or excessive maneuvering. Still, a full investigation is needed to understand why this tragedy occurred."
Before the tragic flight, Escobar, Montal, and their children were seen smiling in front of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV helicopter in heartbreaking images that now appear on the New York Helicopter Tours website.
Shortly after takeoff, the 36-year-old pilot radioed a warning that the helicopter was low on fuel.
Just minutes later, disaster unfolded as the aircraft broke apart midair while flying over the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey around 3:15 p.m., according to FDNY officials.
Happy Family Killed Unexpectedly
Escobar has since been identified as the Global CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility. His wife, Merce Montal Costa, according to her LinkedIn profile, worked as a global commercialization manager at Siemens Energy.
She was also the granddaughter of Agustí Montal Costa, a former president of the FC Barcelona football club.
Witnesses said that the helicopter carrying Escobar and his family appeared to lose parts of the helicopter as it plunged into the water.
"But you could literally see that the propeller just snapped right off. You can see it snap off, and then it just came straight down," witness Charles McSorley said.
The helicopter had been airborne for just 16 minutes after taking off from the Wall Street Heliport and flying near the Statue of Liberty before crashing into the water.
Dani Horbiak told ABC News that she saw the helicopter "drop from the sky" while watching from her apartment. "I heard five or six loud noises that sounded almost like gunshots in the sky and saw pieces fall off, then watched it fall into the river," she said.
The cause of the helicopter crash is still unclear, as rescue teams were seen retrieving twisted wreckage from the water late Thursday night. Michael Roth, CEO of New York Helicopter Charter and owner of the tour company, told the New York Post after the incident that he was "completely heartbroken."
"The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren't on the helicopter. And I haven't seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business," he said.
