NYC sightseeing helicopter plunges into river, killing six, including family of Spanish tourists
New York (AP): A New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair Thursday and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River, killing the pilot and a family of five Spanish tourists in the latest US aviation disaster, officials said.
The victims included Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, a global manager at an energy technology company, and three children, in addition to the pilot, a person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press. The person could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Photos posted on the helicopter company's website showed the couple and their children smiling as they boarded just before the flight took off.
The flight departed a downtown heliport around 3 p.m. and lasted less than 18 minutes. Radar data showed it flew north along the Manhattan skyline and then back south toward the Statue of Liberty.
Video of the crash showed parts of the aircraft tumbling through the air into the water near the shoreline of Jersey City, New Jersey.
A witness there, Bruce Wall, said he saw it “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the helicopter as it fell.
Dani Horbiak was at her Jersey City home when she heard what sounded like “several gunshots in a row, almost, in the air.” She looked out her window and saw the chopper "splash in several pieces into the river.”
The helicopter was spinning uncontrollably with “a bunch of smoke coming out” before it slammed into the water, said Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Rescue boats circled the submerged aircraft within minutes of impact near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel. Recovery crews hoisted the mangled helicopter out of the water just after 8 p.m. using a floating crane.
The bodies were also recovered from the river, Mayor Eric Adams said.
The flight was operated by New York Helicopters, officials said. No one answered the phones at the company's offices in New York and New Jersey.
A person who answered the phone at the home of the company's owner, Michael Roth, said he declined to comment. Roth told the New York Post he was devastated and had “no clue” why the crash happened.
“The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren't on the helicopter,” the Post quoted him as saying. He added that he had not seen such a thing happen during his 30 years in the helicopter business, but noted: “These are machines, and they break.”
Emails seeking comment were sent to attorneys who have represented Roth in the past.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206, a model widely used in commercial and government aviation, including by sightseeing companies, TV news stations and police. It was initially developed for the U.S. Army before being adapted for other uses. Thousands have been manufactured over the years.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate.
Video of the crash suggested that a “catastrophic mechanical failure” left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter, said Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps.
It is possible the helicopter's main rotors struck the tail boom, breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free fall, Green said.
“They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened,” Green said. “There's no indication they had any control over the craft. No pilot could have prevented that accident once they lost the lifts. It's like a rock falling to the ground. It's heartbreaking.”
The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads from which business executives and others are whisked to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.
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Remarks on Op Sindoor: Ashoka University professor's arrest sparks condemnation
Sonipat (Haryana), May 18 (PTI): The arrest of Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad over his online posts on Operation Sindoor triggered condemnation from opposition leaders and academicians, with TMC MP Mahua Moitra saying that they will move court against the Haryana government's action.
Mahmudabad, head of the political science department at the private university, was arrested on Sunday after two FIRs were lodged on stringent charges, including endangering sovereignty and integrity, for his social media posts related to Operation Sindoor, police and his lawyer said.
AIMIM leader Asaddudin Owaisi and Trinamool Congress MP Moitra were among those who condemned the arrest.
"Haryana police reportedly arrested him from Delhi, violating legal process. This targets an individual for his opinions; his post wasn't anti-national or misogynistic. A mere complaint by a BJP worker made Haryana police take action," Owaisi said on X.
Utterly condemnable. If true, Haryana police reportedly arrested him from Delhi, violating legal process. This targets an individual for his opinions; his post wasn’t anti-national or misogynistic. A mere complaint by a BJP worker made Haryana police take action. https://t.co/xsOpdmAd7R
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) May 18, 2025
TMC leader Moitra said they will move the court against the arrest.
"Horrified at arrest of distinguished scholar & academic Prof @Mahmudabad - has this bigoted govt & @police_haryana totally lost it? We are moving court asap (sic)," she said on X.
Horrified at arrest of distinguished scholar & academic Prof @Mahmudabad - has this bigoted govt & @police_haryana totally lost it? We are moving court asap.
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) May 18, 2025
The CPI(M) also attacked the Modi government over the issue.
In a post on X, the Left party said, "We condemn the arrest of professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad for his social media post against hate. While hate-mongers like Vijay Shah (Madhya Pradesh minister) roam free, those calling for justice and peace are targeted in Modi's India."
We condemn the arrest of Professor #AliKhanMahmudabad pic.twitter.com/KNOeIdcTnH
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) May 18, 2025
Meanwhile, the Faculty Association of Ashoka University strongly condemned the Mahmudabad's arrest on "groundless and untenable charges".
"We condemn the calculated harassment to which Professor Mahmudabad has been subjected: after being arrested early in the morning from his home in New Delhi, he was taken to Sonipat, not allowed access to necessary medication, and driven around for hours without any communication about his whereabouts," the association said in a statement.
"We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Professor Mahmudabad and the dropping of all charges against him," it said.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA) condemned the arrest of Mahmudabad and demanded his immediate release.
"The JNUTA expresses its outrage at the wholly unwarranted arrest by the Haryana Police of Dr Khan. This arrest, purportedly on the basis of a complaint by a leader of the ruling party, follows soon after the Haryana State Commission for Women acted way beyond its jurisdiction in taking suo motu cognisance of some statements made by Professor Khan," it said in a statement.
On Saturday, Mahmudabad reposted on his X handle "an open letter signed by over 1,200 people, including academics, politicians, and civil servants" who, he said, expressed support for him and demanded that the Haryana Women's Commission retract its summons to him and issue an apology.
Mahmudabad had mentioned in his post that "it is heartening and humbling to see this cross-sectional support. My profound thanks to the 1200+ people who have signed, called and written in support, especially faculty and students".
Swaraj India leader and political activist Yogendra Yadav termed the associate professor's arrest as "shocking".
"Shocking, this arrest of Prof Ali Kahn Mahmudabad, Ashoka University," Yadav posted on X and asked what is "anti-women" about his post and how does this spread religious hatred or strife.
"And how on earth does it constitute an "Act endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India?" he said.
"...What's the message? While Prof Khan has been arrested, has anything happened to the MP minister who actually insulted Col Sofia? What's the real message?" Yadav said in his post.
Shocking, this arrest of Prof Ali Kahn Mehbubabad, Ashoka University.
— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) May 18, 2025
Please read this post by him and ask yourself: What is anti women about this? How does this spread religious hatred or strife? And how on earth does it constitute an “Act endangering sovereignty, unity and… https://t.co/EePb6kL7NE pic.twitter.com/WJXenUNLNr
Mahmudabad's arrest came days after the Haryana State Commission for Women sent a notice to the associate professor questioning his remarks, though Mahmudabad had maintained that they were "misunderstood" and asserted that he had exercised his fundamental right to freedom of speech.
"Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been arrested in Delhi," Assistant Commissioner of Police, Rai, Ajeet Singh said over phone, adding the action came in connection with some comments related to Operation Sindoor.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Narender Kadyan said two FIRs were lodged at the Rai police station here -- one based on a complaint from the chairperson of Haryana State Commission for Women, Renu Bhatia, and the other on the complaint of a village sarpanch.
"On the Commission chairperson's complaint, the FIR has been lodged against Prof Ali of Ashoka University under BNS sections 152 (acts endangering sovereignty or unity and integrity of India), 353 (statements conducing to public mischief), 79 (deliberate actions aimed at insulting the modesty of a woman) and 196 (1) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion)," Kadyan told reporters here.
"He has been arrested today...Two FIRs have been registered at the Rai police station," he said.
Police remand of Mahmudabad will be taken on the basis of a complaint of the Commission, he said.
Indian armed forces hit terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7 under Operation Sindoor in retaliation against the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
The associate professor had earlier said that the state Commission for women has "misread" his comment.
"...I am surprised that the Women's Commission, while overreaching its jurisdiction, has misread and misunderstood my posts to such an extent that they have inverted their meaning," Mahmudabad had said on X.
He had said that he had exercised his "fundamental right to freedom of thought and speech in order to promote peace and harmony and to applaud the Indian armed forces for their resolute action, while criticising those who preach hatred and seek to destabilise India".
My statement re the summons that I received from the Haryana State Women’s Commission.
— Ali Khan Mahmudabad (@Mahmudabad) May 14, 2025
The posts that were misunderstood and objected to can be accessed on my Facebook page. pic.twitter.com/U4rZrAXhFx
