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What was supposed to be a scenic helicopter tour over New York City ended in heartbreak on Thursday when the chopper crashed into the Hudson River, killing all six people onboard. Among the victims were three children, two adults, and the pilot.
Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the terrible news during a press conference and said the group is believed to include a family visiting from Spain.
Crash Caught on Video, Search Boats Rush In
Footage of the crash showed something large falling into the river, followed a few seconds later by a spinning helicopter blade. Within minutes, police and emergency boats were on the scene. In the water, the only thing visible was part of the landing gear — the rest of the helicopter had already gone under.
Hudson River helicopter crash, as an engineer the amount of single points of failure in a helicopter scares the shit out of me.pic.twitter.com/fHyGJ0ZaZb
Advertisement · Scroll to continue— ✪ Evil Te?an ✪ (@vileTexan) April 10, 2025
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch shared the timeline: the Bell 206 helicopter took off from a downtown Manhattan helipad around 3 p.m., flying north over the Hudson River. It turned south once it reached the George Washington Bridge. Just minutes later — at around 3:15 p.m. — the helicopter slammed into the river near Lower Manhattan, just off Hoboken, New Jersey.
It flipped upside down as it hit the water and quickly sank.
Rescue Teams Pulled Everyone Out — But No One Survived
Divers jumped into action to pull out the pilot, two adults, and three kids from the submerged wreckage. Sadly, four people died right there at the scene. The other two were taken to the hospital, but doctors couldn’t save them.
A police spokesperson said NYPD boats were part of the rescue effort and got there fast.
Helicopter Tours Are Popular in NYC — But Not Without Risk
New York City skies are often buzzing with helicopters offering tourists a bird’s-eye view of the skyline. Dozens of companies run tours like this daily, and you can easily book them online. Some companies also offer helicopter rides to and from local airports.
But after this crash — and others in recent years — a lot of people are asking: are these tours really safe?
New Yorkers may remember the 2018 crash where five people died after a helicopter went down in the East River. That flight had an open-door setup for passengers to take photos of the city — only the pilot survived.
Helicopter accidents like these have led to increased calls for tighter rules, especially in such crowded airspace.
Feds Launch Full Investigation
The FAA and NTSB are already on the case. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation to figure out exactly what went wrong — whether it was mechanical failure, pilot error, or something else.
This crash comes just a couple months after another deadly helicopter-related incident. Back in January, 67 people were killed when an Army helicopter and a regional passenger jet collided near Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.
Since then, the FAA has banned helicopters from flying near that airport — and now it’s reviewing helicopter activity near other major U.S. cities too, including New York.
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