Why Did a Helicopter Crash in NYC’s Hudson River? What We Know so Far.

There are a lot of questions swirling after a tourist helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York City on Thursday, killing Siemens Mobility executive Agustín Escobar, his wife, and three children.

The pilot, who the National Transportation Safety Board said on Friday had about 788 hours of total flight experience, also died.

The 21-year-old Bell 206 helicopter, registered N216MH and operated by New York Helicopter, plummeted into the river off the New Jersey shoreline at around 3:15 p.m.

It crashed upside down after what appears to have been a midair breakup. The aircraft was owned by Louisiana-based Meridian Helicopters, LLC, whose website says it sells, refurbishes, and leases helicopters. Meridian didn’t return an email or phone message from BI.

Former military helicopter pilot Brian Alexander told Business Insider that the accident appears to have been a result of a “catastrophic mechanical failure” involving both the main and tail rotors.

He said no cause is confirmed and people should wait for the NTSB’s investigation before jumping to conclusions. Alexander also is a partner at aviation accident law firm Kreindler & Kreindler.

While Thursday’s helicopter crash could spark renewed fears amid a recent spat of airline accidents, the cause is unlikely to be related.

Why did the helicopter crash?

Videos posted on social media show the helicopter’s rotary systems apparently detached mid-flight, falling into the water after the aircraft’s main body had already crashed.

“It’s hard to say which came first,” Alexander said. “There appears to be spinning, which would suggest a tail rotor issue, but you can’t rule out a main rotor detaching first and hitting the tail rotor.”

The spinning he’s referring to is the helicopter fuselage as it fell into the Hudson, which he said means the tail rotor likely failed at some point.

He explained that without a tail rotor, the helicopter would “spin like a top” due to the torque created by the main rotor as it produces lift and thrust. Either or both systems failing could lead to an accident.

“If you lose your main rotor, meaning it’s detached, you have no lift, you’re done,” Alexander said. “There’s nothing you can do at that point; you’re just a falling object.”

He said a helicopter that loses just a tail rotor is a severe situation, but it can still be flown — though with great difficulty.

Alexander said that losing power is typically a more surmountable issue. In a scenario where the helicopter’s engine failed, and the blades were still attached, the aircraft could auto-rotate to descend to land.

NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said on Friday that part of the wreckage had been pulled from the river, but dive teams are still retrieving components, including the main and tail rotors.

She said the agency “does not speculate” on probable cause and still needed to gather the sunken components, conduct witness interviews, and gather records like maintenance logs.

Why did the rotors apparently detach?

Alexander said that there are several reasons the helicopter rotors could detach, like mechanic error or a transmission issue.

He also said the mast — which connects the main rotor hub to the transmission — could have disconnected entirely.

“Someone on the maintenance side maybe didn’t tighten a bolt up, or a part just failed,” he said, emphasizing that any cause is still unknown. “I’m sure that’s what [investigators] will be looking at.”

This wouldn’t be the first time a helicopter owned by Meridian and operated by New York Helicopter experienced a system malfunction.

In 2015, the tail rotor driveshaft on another one of the company’s Bell 206 helicopters detached, which caused a loss of control and hard landing in New Jersey, according to the NTSB.

The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was uninjured.

The driveshaft transmits power from the transmission to the tail rotor. However, the NTSB determined that the one installed was “unairworthy.”

Meridian told the NTSB that the driveshaft was purchased at auction by the helicopter’s previous owner after the same helicopter experienced a separate hard landing in 2010.

Inspectors found the driveshaft had been repainted, corrosion had been removed, and the serial number did not match known records — meaning they could not determine if it was the same driveshaft that was attached to the helicopter during the 2010 hard landing.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the 2015 crash was the “deliberate concealment and reuse” of a faulty driveshaft “by “unknown personnel.”

New York Helicopter didn’t answer calls from BI; its president declined to comment to The Wall Street Journal.

How often do helicopters crash?

While helicopters are generally safe so long as safety procedures are followed, they have a comparatively higher crash rate than commercial airplanes because of their riskier complex systems and operating environment.

Helicopters have more moving parts, require more adjustments, rely on auto-rotation to emergency land rather than glide, operate at lower altitudes, and commonly fly in less controlled airspace.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X that Thursday’s helicopter was flying in the Special Flight Rules Area at the time of the crash, where there is no air traffic control support.

Data from the US Helicopter Safety Team shows there were about 90 helicopter accidents in 2024, 13 of which led to 30 collective fatalities.

An Associated Press report said at least 32 people were killed in helicopter crashes in New York City between 1977 and 2019.

Five people died in 2018 when a helicopter crashed and flipped upside down in the East River. A year later, a helicopter crash-landed on the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper, killing the pilot.

The accidents have sparked restrictions on things like flight paths and landing spots to improve safety.

Alexander said that while helicopter crashes are more common, complete main rotor detachment is rare. “Everything about this is unusual,” he said. “You just don’t see something like what we all saw.”