Key pieces of evidence in chopper crash recovered from Hudson River

Multiple key pieces of evidence in the investigation into last week's helicopter crash in the Hudson River were recovered Monday, including divers dredging up the aircraft's main rotor.

That main rotor is connected to the transmission. Rotors are critical for generating lift in helicopters and performing other essential functions, so an assessment could yield crucial insight into what went wrong on Thursday's flight.

Divers also recovered the tail rotor and the roof beam of the Bell 206 aircraft, and the NTSB said recovery efforts had concluded Monday.

The recoveries came a day after word came New York Helicopter Tours, the operator of the chopper, would shut down operations.

A day ago, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that New York Helicopter Tours, which operated the chopper in the deadly crash, would cease operations immediately.

"Additionally, the FAA will be launching an immediate review of the tour operator's license and safety record," the FAA statement read, in part.

FAA Statement⁰⁰New York Helicopter Tours — the company involved in the deadly crash on the Hudson earlier this week — is shutting down their operations immediately.⁰ ⁰We will continue to support @NTSB’s investigation. Additionally, the FAA will be launching an immediate…

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) April 14, 2025

The president of New York Helicopter Tours, Michael Roth, did not respond to phone and email inquiries. The company said in a statement published on its website that it was cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

Later on Monday, the FAA issued an emergency order grounding all choppers operated by New York Helicopter Charter, saying that it did so because "after the company’s director of operations voluntarily shut down flights, he was fired." The FAA administrator also said there would be a "comprehensive review" of company operations.

"The immediate firing of the Director of Operations raises serious safety concerns because it appears Mr. Roth retaliated against Mr. Costello for making the safety decision to cease operations during the investigations," the FAA's emergency letter of suspension read. "New York Helicopter does not have a qualified person serving in the position of Director of Operations."

However, the company's website was still accepting reservations for future trips through Monday morning.

Over the weekend, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer had called on federal authorities to revoke the company's permits, and specifically said the FAA should ramp up safety inspections for other helicopter tour companies, accusing them of “cutting corners and putting profits over people.”

The victims included passengers Agustin Escobar, 49, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39, and their three children, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10. The pilot was Sean Johnson, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran who received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023.

“One of the things we can do to honor those lives and try to save others is to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Schumer said. “We know there is one thing for sure about New York City’s helicopter tour companies: they have a deadly track record.”

In response to Schumer's calls for more oversight, an industry group, Eastern Region Helicopter Council, said Manhattan’s sightseeing choppers "already operate under the most stringent of regulations.”

“We stand ready to work with leaders on finding ways to ensure the safety and preservation of our businesses and aviation community,” the group said.

In the last two decades, five helicopters on commercial sightseeing flights have fallen into the Hudson and East rivers as a result of mechanical failures, pilot errors or collisions, killing 20 people.

The pilot's original military instructor, a Navy SEAL, called Johnson "a great human being...full of light and energy," while also said he was certain the crash was due to pilot error.

"There was no way that this crash was the result of Sean doing something wrong in this helicopter. I don't imagine him doing anything out of the lateral limits," said Ty Smith, who said Johnson was "highly trained" to handle all sort of emergency situations throughout his military career. "It had to be mechanical failure."

Critics of the industry have long sought to limit or entirely ban nonessential helicopter flights from taking off above the city, though they have had limited success. After New York City capped the number of flights that could take off from Manhattan heliports at 30,000 annually in 2016, many companies moved operations to New Jersey.

Two years later, in 2018, five people died when a helicopter offering “open door” flights crashed in the East River after a passenger’s restraint tether snagged on a fuel switch, stopping the engine.

The cause of Thursday’s crash is not yet determined. The NTSB said it was looking at all possible causes and will take time with its investigation.

Meanwhile, the family and loved ones of those killed have focused on their final goodbyes.

"They left without suffering, and they left with a smile on their faces. And that's important for us as a family," said Joan Camprubí, the brother of Mercè Camprubí Montal.