The doomed helicopter that plunged into the Hudson River Thursday, killing its pilot and five passengers, had no flight recorders equipped, federal officials said.
The Bell 206 L-4 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter in Manhattan, was on its eighth flight of the day when it dropped from the sky during a sightseeing tour Thursday afternoon, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Investigators have recovered the helicopter’s main fuselage, including its cockpit and cabin, the forward portion of its tail boom, its horizontal stabilizer finlets and its vertical fin, the NTSB announced Saturday night.
Some of those parts will be sent to the NTSB laboratories in Washington, officials said.
NYPD divers are still looking for the chopper’s main rotor, main gear box, tail rotor and a large portion of its tail boom.
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NTSB investigator documenting the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, New Jersey , photographed on April 11, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board)
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NTSB investigator documenting the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, New Jersey , photographed on April 11, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board)
So far, investigators have found no onboard cameras or video recorders and the helicopter’s avionics didn’t record any useful information, NTSB officials said. The helicopter’s last inspection was on March 1.
Spanish tourists Agustin Escobar, the CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children all died in the crash, as did pilot Sean Johnson, after pieces of the helicopter, including the rotor, appeared to break off in mid-air.
The helicopter overturned and fell from the sky, hitting the river upside down.
At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977.
