The pilot of a tour helicopter that crashed into New York's Hudson River on Thursday warned that the aircraft was running out of fuel moments before the tragedy, which killed all six people on board, including a Spanish family of five.
The crash occurred at around 3:15pm local time near the New Jersey side of the river, just off Lower Manhattan. Emergency calls were received at 3:17pm, only 17 minutes after the helicopter departed from downtown Manhattan. The aircraft, operated by New York Helicopter, was a Bell 206L-4.
Michael Roth, owner of New York Helicopter, said the pilot radioed that he needed fuel and was landing, but failed to arrive. '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 didn't arrive,' Roth told The Telegraph. Another pilot later spotted the helicopter upside down in the water.
The victims include Agustín Escobar, president of Siemens Spain, his wife, and their three children, according to the New York Times. The pilot has not yet been formally identified. Four people were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others died in hospital.
Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter 'split in half' before it went down near Pier 40, with one person describing a sound like a 'sonic boom.' The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
