On the 10th (local time), a tourist helicopter crashed in New York City, resulting in the deaths of all passengers, including the CEO of Siemens Mobility and his family.
According to the Associated Press and Reuters, the accident claimed the lives of six people onboard the helicopter, including Augustin Escobar, the CEO of Siemens Mobility, his wife, three children, and the pilot.
CEO Escobar served as the representative of Siemens Spain in 2022 and is currently active as the global CEO overseeing railway infrastructure. Since 2023, he has also held the position of vice president at the German Chamber of Commerce in Spain.
He reportedly encountered the accident while on a helicopter tour of New York for tourism purposes with his family. The website of the tour company "New York Helicopter Tours" contains a photo of them smiling inside the helicopter just before takeoff, according to the Associated Press.
According to aviation tracking data, the helicopter departed from a downtown Manhattan helipad around 3 p.m. that day and crashed into the Hudson River about 18 minutes later.
Witness testimonies and videos captured the moment when the helicopter's propeller detached mid-air, causing the aircraft to split in two and crash. Justin Greene, an aviation lawyer and former Marine helicopter pilot, analyzed that "the main propeller may have collided with the tail section, leading to the helicopter becoming uncontrollable" and added, "It is highly likely that they died instantly at the moment of the accident."
The crashed aircraft is a "Bell 206," originally developed for military use, but is now widely used in various fields, including police, broadcasting, and tourism. It is a model that continues to see numerous units manufactured and operated.
Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the exact cause of the accident.