Brade
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has released new aerial video footage capturing the aftermath of a tragic helicopter crash into the Hudson River last week, which resulted in the deaths of six individuals, including three children. The incident occurred on April 10, and the footage shows NYPD divers swiftly responding to the scene, jumping into the murky waters from police boats to reach the mangled aircraft.
The Bell 206 L-4 helicopter was found floating upside down as divers worked tirelessly to recover the pilot and five passengers. Among the victims were AGUSTIN ESCOBAR, his wife, MERCÈ CAMPRUBÍ MONTAL, and their three young children. The NYPD diving unit, which was already in the area searching for a missing person, played a crucial role in the rapid response to the crash near the Jersey City, New Jersey, coastline.
JOSEPH FREVOLA, an officer with the NYPD Scuba Unit, recounted the urgency of the situation during a news conference on Wednesday. “The call came over, and we headed to the helicopter crash as quickly as possible,” he said. “We were there in about eight to 10 minutes.” Despite challenging weather conditions, the team remained focused on locating the tail and main rotors of the aircraft to assist in the ongoing investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed on Saturday that the helicopter was not equipped with any flight recorders, complicating efforts to determine the cause of the crash. “No onboard video recorders or camera recorders were recovered, and none of the helicopter avionics onboard recorded information that could be used by authorities,” the NTSB stated. Divers were able to recover the main fuselage, including the cockpit and cabin, as well as portions of the tail boom, horizontal stabilizer finlets, and vertical fin. Investigators are continuing to search for additional wreckage using side-scanning sonar.
The helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Charter Inc., had undergone its last inspection on March 1 and had completed seven tour flights prior to the crash. Authorities are still working to uncover the cause of the tragic incident.
[Source: NYPD, NTSB]
