The doomed helicopter in the Hudson River crash was on its eighth flight of the day but had no flight recorder say officials.
The Bell 206 L-4 helicopter, spiraled into the river and killed a Spanish family-of-five plus the pilot who was flying the aircraft. The chopper had done seven journeys on Thursday before the fatal flight which took the family on a trip around New York City.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said the chopper was not equipped with any flight recorders meaning no video of the tragedy have been found by investigators. No recorded audio information from on board has been recovered but large parts of the damaged helicopter were discovered including its cockpit and cabin, the forward portion of the tail boom, the horizontal stabilizer finlets, and the vertical fin. The NTSB says the main rotor blades remain missing.
Wreckage from the helicopter crash has been taken to NTSB laboratories in Washington DC as the investigation continues while the reasons for the crash has not yet been determined. The National Transportation Safety Board said the last major inspection of the helicopter was held on March 1.
The Mirror reported earlier how the helicopter had mechanical issues months before the fatal incident. The aircraft experienced a mechanical issue last September, it has been claimed.
Owned and operated by New York Helicopter, the chopper had an issue with its transmission assembly, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The aircraft, built in 2004, had already logged 12,728 hours of flight time when it needed repair, records show.
It was on the return flight from a sightseeing trip up the Hudson River carrying a family of five from Spain when it violently fell from the air and into the frigid water on Thursday. Agustín Escobar , president and CEO of Siemens Spain, was with his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and three children, Augustin, 10, Mercedes, 8, and Victor, 4, who were taking part in a sightseeing trip over the Big Apple at the time of the tragedy. The pilot, who has been identified as Navy veteran Sean Johnson, also died.
The five family members were declared dead following the horror crash on Thursday, which is one of the deadliest helicopter crashes in New York City in almost 20 years. It is believed the family arrived in New York City earlier on Thursday, making the sightseeing trip by air one of their first priorities.
After the fatal crash, a couple who were next in line to board a NYC helicopter spoke out about the ordeal. The pair were visiting New York City from the Netherlands and waited in line to board on Thursday before the tragedy.
Melissa Maertem, 23 and Mellissa Bos, 24, stood behind Escobar and his family who boarded the fatal flight. Maertem told the New York Daily News: “We saw pictures … of the family and [realized] ‘wow … that’s the one we saw [at the heliport]” They saw the footage of the crash after returning to their hotel and said: “It’s really, really hard.”