Spanish Family Killed in NYC Helicopter Crash Identified as Siemens Executive and Wife

What was meant to be a joyful family celebration turned into a horrifying tragedy over the Hudson River on Thursday, as a tourist helicopter carrying a Spanish family of five and their pilot crashed, killing all on board.

Authorities have identified the adult victims as Agustín Escobar, a senior executive with German tech giant Siemens, and his wife Merce Camprubi Montal. The couple was in New York City with their three young children, reportedly all under the age of 12, to celebrate a birthday either Merce’s 40th or that of one of the children, according to differing reports.

The flight turned deadly when, according to witness accounts and video evidence, the Bell 206 helicopter appeared to break apart mid-air. One witness told ABC News she heard “five or six loud noises that sounded almost like gunshots in the sky” before seeing the chopper fall into the Hudson River.

Key details now emerging raise disturbing questions about the flight’s condition and oversight:

• The pilot reportedly radioed in a fuel issue shortly before the crash, telling his base he was planning to return. That return never happened.

• 20 minutes passed between his call for fuel and the crash, far longer than it should have taken him to return, according to New York Helicopter Tours’ CEO Michael Roth.

• Witnesses describe a catastrophic failure, saying they saw the aircraft’s rotor blades detach before the fuselage plummeted.

The tragic crash occurred just off the New Jersey side of the Hudson, and authorities were able to recover all six victims by Thursday evening. Four were declared dead at the scene, and two died later in the hospital.

As the investigation unfolds, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are expected to probe the helicopter’s mechanical condition, operator maintenance records, and the pilot’s history.

This devastating incident shines a harsh light on the growing number of tourist helicopter operations over New York City and the regulatory questions that continue to go unanswered. According to 2023 FAA data, there are more than 40,000 helicopter flights over the city each year, many of them low-altitude, high-risk sightseeing trips. Just last year, a similar crash narrowly avoided fatalities when a helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in the East River.

Global leaders expressed their condolences, with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calling it “an unimaginable tragedy.” President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social: “The footage of the accident is horrendous. God bless the families and friends of the victims. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, and his talented staff are on it.”

This horrific crash is more than an accident it’s a warning. A family was lost, not in a war zone or natural disaster, but during a birthday trip in one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the world. Americans deserve answers and accountability.

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