The pilot of the private helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday was identified as 36-year0old Sean Johnson, who was a Navy SEAL veteran and a former celebrity bodyguard. The pilot died along with the five members of the family of Agustin Escober, an executive of Siemens who came to New York from Barcelona to celebrate one of his children's birthday.
Johnson, who recently moved to New York City to continue his aviation career, was operating a Bell 206 on Thursday as part of a sightseeing tour for a family of five from Barcelona. He previously lived in states including Illinois, Virginia and Montana.
"I'm just at loss for words. I don't even know what happened,' Johnson's wife, Kathryn Johnson, said.
Johnson studied commercial piloting at Southern Utah University and also attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide, according to his Facebook profile.
He posted a photo of him sitting inside a Bell 206 helicopter, the same model that he crashed on Thursday. “When it all comes together…,” Sean wrote as the caption showing how much he wanted to fly. It is not known whether it's the same copter that crashed.
How did the helicopter crash?
The exact reason for the crash is not known but the helicopter was low on fuel as minutes before the crash, Johnson called the base and told that he was coming back to get fuel. The helicopter took off at 2:59 p.m. from Manhattan’s downtown heliport following a popular sightseeing route. After circling the Statue of Liberty, it flew north along the Hudson River, reaching the George Washington Bridge by 3:08 p.m. It then turned south along the New Jersey shoreline, where it lost control shortly after. At 3:17 p.m., multiple 911 calls reported a crash near Pier A Park in Hoboken, New Jersey. Witnesses said the helicopter appeared to stop midair before pieces broke off.
The private company that owned the helicopter did not say anything about the maintenance of the chopper and also how there was low fuel only after 15 minutes of flying.
Johnson, who recently moved to New York City to continue his aviation career, was operating a Bell 206 on Thursday as part of a sightseeing tour for a family of five from Barcelona. He previously lived in states including Illinois, Virginia and Montana.
"I'm just at loss for words. I don't even know what happened,' Johnson's wife, Kathryn Johnson, said.
Johnson studied commercial piloting at Southern Utah University and also attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide, according to his Facebook profile.
He posted a photo of him sitting inside a Bell 206 helicopter, the same model that he crashed on Thursday. “When it all comes together…,” Sean wrote as the caption showing how much he wanted to fly. It is not known whether it's the same copter that crashed.
How did the helicopter crash?
The exact reason for the crash is not known but the helicopter was low on fuel as minutes before the crash, Johnson called the base and told that he was coming back to get fuel. The helicopter took off at 2:59 p.m. from Manhattan’s downtown heliport following a popular sightseeing route. After circling the Statue of Liberty, it flew north along the Hudson River, reaching the George Washington Bridge by 3:08 p.m. It then turned south along the New Jersey shoreline, where it lost control shortly after. At 3:17 p.m., multiple 911 calls reported a crash near Pier A Park in Hoboken, New Jersey. Witnesses said the helicopter appeared to stop midair before pieces broke off.
The private company that owned the helicopter did not say anything about the maintenance of the chopper and also how there was low fuel only after 15 minutes of flying.
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