Helicopter Tour Company Involved in Deadly NYC Crash Shutting Down Operations
“Additionally, the FAA will be launching an immediate review of the tour operator’s license and safety record.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the company involved in the deadly crash into the Hudson River has shut down its operations.
The FAA wrote on X:
New York Helicopter Tours — the company involved in the deadly crash on the Hudson earlier this week — is shutting down their operations immediately.
We will continue to support @NTSB’s investigation. Additionally, the FAA will be launching an immediate review of the tour operator’s license and safety record.
Lastly on the topic of helicopter safety broadly: The FAA is already analyzing airplane/helicopter hotspots nationwide, and we will be hosting a helicopter safety panel on April 22 to discuss the findings, risks, and additional mitigation options.
Safety is the FAA’s number one priority, and we will not hesitate to act to protect the flying public.
FAA Statement⁰⁰New York Helicopter Tours — the company involved in the deadly crash on the Hudson earlier this week — is shutting down their operations immediately.⁰ ⁰We will continue to support @NTSB’s investigation. Additionally, the FAA will be launching an immediate…
— The FAA
(@FAANews) April 14, 2025
Six people, a family of five and the pilot, died when the helicopter crashed into the Hudson River last Thursday.
The victims were from Spain on vacation: Siemens senior executive Agustin Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children.
The pilot was Seankese Johnson.
The flight was the helicopter’s sixth flight of the day. CBS News reported “that for at least the last week, the helicopter has traveled to and from airports and heliports in our area, with multiple flights per day.”
Witness Dani Horbiak told ABC News, “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.”
The video showed the helicopter fell “without a tail rotor or a main rotor blade.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged the FAA to suspend the company’s helicopter tours.
“There is one thing for sure about New York City’s helicopter tour companies: they have a deadly track record,” Schumer said at a press conference on Sunday. “I am urging the FAA to pull their operating certificate immediately and cease flights until their full investigation is complete.”
In the last eight years, the New York Helicopter has been through a bankruptcy and faces ongoing lawsuits over alleged debts. Phones rang unanswered at the company’s offices Friday.
In 2013, one of the company’s helicopters suddenly lost power in midair, and the pilot maneuvered it to a safe landing on pontoons in the Hudson. FAA data shows the helicopter that crashed Thursday was built in 2004.
According to FAA records, the helicopter had a maintenance issue last September involving its transmission assembly. The helicopter had logged 12,728 total flight hours at the time, according to the records.
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Mast bumping has been an understood phenomena in two-bladed helos since the 1960s. The Marines have experienced their share of fatalities from the problem for decades. In the 1990s, a number of families of deceased service members (including the family of a close friend) sued Bell for building a helo with a inherently dangerous design flaw and won a 7-figure jury award….which was eventually set aside on appeal because of procedural/immunity claims. Still, they built the Bell 206 until just about a decade ago. Most of local TV stations that have helos use the 206 and many police departments operate them…and they occasionally fall out of the sky because of mast bumping.
That’s exactly why Robinson Helicopters just introduced the two-bladed R88—building on the success of thousands of R22, R44, and R66 models sold worldwide. And let’s not forget: Bell is still producing a two-bladed helicopter too—the Bell 505 (an ugly successor with old parts). Sometimes, simplicity and proven design still win in the rotorcraft world…
There are definitely use-cases for this rotor design. I’m just not sure if it’s smart for FAA to allow this design in some applications…like tour operators, who often use minimally qualified pilots, as this pilot was. Also, the Bell 505 incorporated design changes to its rotor hub and it’s auto-pilot systems (many mast-bumping fatal accidents were experienced during auto-pilot operation). Maybe it would be smart to only allow commercial passenger operation for these rotor types that have the more advanced designs.
What is mast bumping? Thank you.
It’s a situation where the rotor hub wobbles at it’s attachment point to the mast. The two should remain in a fixed relationship, like a capital T. In extreme situations it can lead to the separation of the hub from the mast or allow the rotor blades to strike the tail of the helicopter, resulting in the failure of the rotor blade(s) and/or the tail. The ground vehicle equivalent is the so-called “death wobble”, where a failed wheel bearing allows a wheel to wobble, leading to loss of steering control or possibly separation of the wheel from the axle.
To expound on what Rusty said, it’s a problem that rears its ugly head when the aircraft experiences a low-g situation. This can be caused by abrupt, extreme pilot inputs on the cyclic or by in-flight turbulence…or both. Most frequently, it’s a condition caused by the former, simply an accident due entirely to pilot error, particularly inexperienced helicopter pilots.
A big thank you to you both.
My only experience in flying is that I had about 180 hours on the books when I ceased flying back in the late 70s. The only bragging rights I have is that I learned how to fly and got my ticket flying Grumman Americans.
I watched a video about how the helicopter rotor and transmission separated from the aircraft. Guy in video said likely not mast bumping because this particular helicopter very rarely experiences that. Instead he believed there was catastrophic mechanical failure that caused the rotor and transmission to separate from the aircraft. We shall see.
“There is one thing for sure about New York City’s helicopter tour companies: they have a deadly track record…”
And how many people have been killed in automobile accidents during the same period? Are you going to stop people from driving? Schumer is a craven fool who will dash to the nearest television camera whenever something tragic occurs.
If you’re interested in a logical and authoritative take on what might have happened I’d recommend checking out Juan Brown on YouTube.
That’s a terrible comparison autos to helicopters. The other objection is cars don’t kill people due to mechanical errors but Helos do. That model helo has been known for its design flaw yet it is still being operated. Helicopter tours are like bungee jumping. Ask yourself, what is the best and what is the worst thing that can come from it. You’ll end up taking a tour bus.
“cars don’t kill people due to mechanical errors”
Yes they do kill, wheel bearing failure, front end failure, rear tag axle failure (A long time ago I designed a machine for Buick that was used to fine tune the tag axle to a 100000 mile life), I could go on about this.
One local to me just last November- in Rochester NY- deadly tour bus accident.
https://13wham.com/news/local/overturned-vehicle-crash-shuts-down-i-490-westbound-lanes
Generally, from what I observe, busses are keeping up with automobile flow, unless going up a grade. So they’re going well above the speed limit most of the time.
What is a helicopter without a design flaw as bad as that one, and how much does it cost per copy? A helo is a complicated piece of machinery that has to be reliable. If you add in that it has to be affordable too, you’ve got a very difficult combination to provide.
“The pilot, Seankese Johnson, had only recently earned his commercial pilot’s license in August 2023, and at the time of the crash, had logged approximately 788 hours of flight time.”
And? Do those facts affect the fact the aircraft fell apart in the sky?
Would this even be brought up were it not for the pilot’s name sounding DEI?
Don’t know. Maybe there are symptoms of impending mechanical failure that an expert pilot would notice that a novice would not. But didn’t he fly helicopters in the Navy too?
We should all chip in and buy Upchuck a helicopter tour of the big Apple. This way he can gather first hand information about any potential problem with them that requires the senate’s attention.
As a pilot for many thousands of hours, I have always looked at helos as a wonderful invention but very fragile to operate. Fixed-wing airplanes without power, can glide and possibly land safely. Helos can do the same thing except if they lose the rotor, then they become a brick. It would be the same as a plane losing a wing which is very very rare. They remind me of a racehorse weighing 1200 pounds but running on tiny ankles which are the weak spots for all horses. When you look closely at a helo, what is startling is the tiny shaft going to the rotor. Think of the weight of the helo and all of its occupants being held up by that shaft and it looks anemic to me. The Bell Ranger is about 2300 pounds plus the weight of passengers all being held up by that one little shaft. Throw in turbulence or pilot-induced issues and it is scary. I’ll admit I am not a fan of helos.
I understand they teach helo pilots “If something isn’t broke on your helicopter, don’t worry. It will be soon.”
I’ve heard of expert pilots landing with one wing. So losing the rotor is even worse, like losing both wings! A vastly less probable event.
I think tour companies ought be switching to octocopters. Not many being made yet, and most have shorter range all electric versions- but… far more stable in flight.
One with a small genset on board could extend the range considerably- feeding the batteries continuously. The engine craps out- the batteries get you safely to the ground.
Other safety ideas- a parachute to get it down if complete motor failure, and an airbag on the bottom to A. cushion the impact if on land B. keep it afloat long enough for occupants to get out.
Or … fly Cessnas. I suppose you end up going faster, but then you could double back in the same time. But then you need a runway. A VTOL version of a little prop aircraft? Or take off hang-glider style off the edge of a tall building. I haven’t worked out landing yet, but that’s for later after we get takeoff perfected.
I see the dear senator found a microphone to jump in front of.
I’ve heard it said that the most dangerous place in D.C. is between Schumer and a microphone or camera.
Probably a maintenance issue and cheap replacement parts from china
Or, counterfeit.
Furr shure.
A fall guy is always sought by “safety” agencies.
My little Brother tried that sort of argument out on our Father ‘IDK what happened, the lamp Just Broke’. Dad wasn’t amused declaring that ‘lamp didn’t spontaneously explode’, then he whipped both our ass …my Brother for breaking it and me for allowing it via lax supervision.
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