The tourist helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River last year, killing a family of five and the pilot, likely went down after striking a flock of birds, according to an NTSB report released Thursday.
The remains of several geese were discovered on the wreckage of the doomed chopper that broke into three pieces and plunged into the river on April 10, 2025, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
Evidence and witness reports suggested the New York Helicopter Tours chopper struck several birds before the wreck.
The remnants of the stricken birds — which included a great black-backed gull, brant geese, and canadian geese — were analyzed by the members of the Smithsonian Institution’s Feather Identification Lab, the report said.
Last year, a preliminary NTSB report described that witnesses heard “loud bangs” moments before the deadly crash — which took place a mere 17 minutes after it took flight.
Helicopters are especially vulnerable to bird strikes since they fly at lower altitudes.
The Bell 206 chopper took off from Manhattan’s Downtown Skyport with Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three young children — Augustin, 10, Mercedes, 8, and Victor, 4 — on board.
The family, who hailed from Barcelona, Spain, were flown by Sean Johnson, 36, a Navy veteran who recently moved to the Big Apple for his aviation career.
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