Caption: NYC helicopter crash pilot’s chilling radio call to base moments before plunging into Hudson River killing six
Provider: ENTERPRISE NEWS AND PICS/FACEBOOK
A Navy Seal veteran who piloted the helicopter that plummeted into New York City’s Hudson River made a chilling call before the disaster.
Agustín Escobar and Mercè Camprubí Montal had travelled to the US from Spain with their three children, Agustín, 10, Mercè, eight, and Víctor, four, to celebrate Ms Camprubí’s birthday.
All were killed as the aircraft broke apart above the waters off Manhattan.
Seankese ‘Sean’ Johnson, 36, has since been identified as the pilot of the aircraft.
It has been revealed by the owner of doomed helicopter that the pilot had radioed base to say they were returning to the helipad to refuel.
Michael Roth told The Telegraph: ‘He called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he did not arrive.
A New York Police Department scuba team rides to the site of the crash (Picture: AP)
The 71-year-old owns a company which provides helicopter tours of the city called New York Helicopter.
‘We are all devastated. Every employee in our company is devastated. My wife has not stopped crying.
‘I got a call from my manager and my downtown heliport and she said she heard there was a crash, and then my phone blew up from everybody.
‘Then one of my pilots flew over the Hudson and saw the helicopter upside down.’
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The tragedy took place at around 3.15pm on Thursday, closer to the New Jersey side.
Radar data shows it flew north along the Manhattan skyline and then back south toward the Statue of Liberty.
Johnson was behind the controls of the chopper for just 15 minutes after taking off when it smashed into the river at high speed.
Footage showed its rotor ripping off as the craft nose-dived into the water, debris hurtling through the air.
A witness there, Bruce Wall, said he saw it ‘falling apart’ in midair, with the tail and main rotor coming off. The main rotor was still spinning without the helicopter as it fell.
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The disaster is under investigation, but an official cause has still not been confirmed.
Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps, said footage suggested that a ‘catastrophic mechanical failure’ left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter.
It is possible the helicopter’s main rotors struck the tail boom, breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free fall, Green said.
‘They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened,’ Green said.
‘There is no indication they had any control over the craft. No pilot could have prevented that accident once they lost the lifts. It’s like a rock falling to the ground. It is heartbreaking.’
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