The pilot of the helicopter that tragically crashed into the Hudson River in New York has been identified as Sean Johnson, a former Navy SEAL.
The incident occurred at approximately 3:17 p.m. Eastern Time on April 10, when the aircraft—operated by New York Helicopters, as confirmed by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch—went down in the Hudson River. All six people on board were confirmed de.ad shortly after the crash.
The victims included Agustín Escobar, a Siemens executive from Barcelona, Spain; his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal; and their three young children, aged 11, 5, and 4.
In the latest update, authorities named Sean Johnson, a veteran Navy SEAL, as the pilot. Johnson had transitioned to a career in aviation after previously working as a celebrity bodyguard. He had relocated to New York to pursue his passion for flying.
TMichael Roth, the 71-year-old owner of the helicopter, told The Telegraph that the pilot had radioed in to say he was heading back to the helipad for refueling: “He [the pilot] 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 didn’t arrive.”
Following the devastating news, Johnson’s wife, Kathryn Johnson, shared her grief in an interview with Gothamist: “I’m just at loss for words. I don’t even know what happened.
“It’s just hard right now.”
Johnson’s co-pilot and close friend, Earl Watters, expressed his sorrow in a Facebook post: “With a heavy heart I post this…Thanks to everyone that has reached out to me. Yes, the pilot of the helicopter crash in NY was my Co-Pilot and great friend on Boomer last year Sean Johnson.
“… The world has lost an all around great person and amazing friend. He definitely changed my life for the better and I just want to celebrate his life and how he lived. Always and forever a BOOMER crew member Godspeed Amigo.”
An eyewitness named Max spoke to ABC News, describing the harrowing moment he witnessed the crash.
He said: “It sounded like a sonic boom so I look up and literally I saw helicopter splitting in 2, with the rotor flying off in the sky it was going so fast and it just went straight into the water.
“Nothing came up afterwards it must have just sunk and that was it, and then I just waited here and like five minutes later we started seeing the police and stuff come.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”
He continued: “For me I just thought it was going to be like city noise, like a crash or like maybe like a jet going overhead – I know that’s probably not common.
“But yeah, just like a big bang on my right and then like a whoop whoop [making a helicopter noise] as you see the propeller like flying off like up way higher than the the helicopter and just land straight in the water.
“I’m not like [sure], maybe the tail separated? But I think definitely the rotor separated and the body went straight into the water, so some something must have happened with the rotor and it just flipped right off.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched an official investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
