The pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River in New York has been named as Navy SEAL veteran Sean Johnson.
At 3.17pm Eastern Time yesterday (April 10), the aircraft, which New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed was operated by New York Helicopters, crashed into the Hudson River.
It was later confirmed that all six people onboard had died.
The victims of the flight have been identified as Siemens executive Agustín Escobar, of Barcelona, Spain, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children aged 11, five and four, officials confirmed.
And in the most recent development, the pilot has been identified as Sean Johnson, a former Navy SEAL.
Michael Roth, 71, the owner of the helicopter, told The Telegraph: “He [the pilot] radioed in saying he was landing and needed fuel. It should’ve taken him about three minutes to get there, but 20 minutes passed and he never arrived.”
Sean Johnson, the pilot, had previously worked as a celebrity bodyguard before moving to New York to pursue a career in aviation.
His wife, Kathryn Johnson, spoke out after the tragedy, telling Gothamist: “I’m just at a loss for words. I don’t even know what happened. It’s just hard right now.”
Johnson’s former co-pilot, Earl Watters, also paid tribute in a heartfelt Facebook post:
“With a heavy heart I post this… 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 about the crash, describing the terrifying moment he heard and saw it happen.
“It sounded like a sonic boom,” he said. “I looked up and saw the helicopter literally split in two the rotor flew off into the sky, it was going so fast. Then it just went straight into the water.
“Nothing came back up it must’ve sunk instantly. That was it. I stayed here, and about five minutes later the police started showing up.
“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.”
An investigation into the crash is set to be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board.
