As divers continue to use “side-scanning sonar” to search the Hudson River for wreckage from the helicopter crash that killed six people, the National Transportation Safety Board said the aircraft was not equipped with any flight recorders.
“No onboard video recorders or camera recorders have been recovered and none of the helicopter avionics onboard recorded information that could be used for the investigation,” the agency said in an investigation update Saturday evening.
According to the NTSB, the helicopter had its last major inspection on March 1. On the day of the crash, the helicopter had performed seven tour flights, and was on its eighth flight when the accident occurred, per the NTSB.
The main fuselage, including the cockpit and cabin, the forward portion of the tail boom, the horizontal stabilizer finlets and the vertical fin have all been recovered, according to the agency.
Some of these will be sent to the NTSB lab in Washington, D.C., for further inspection, the agency said.
Divers on Saturday were still working to recover more pieces of the helicopter, including the main rotor, main gearbox, tail rotor and a large portion of the tail boom.
Recovery operations in the river will continue on Sunday, the NTSB said.
The family on board was Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, 49; his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, 39; and their children, ages 4, 8 and 10, officials said.
The family came to New York City to join Escobar, who was in the U.S. for a business trip, according to Jersey City Mayor Fulop.
The family died one day before the 8-year-old’s birthday, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Also killed was the pilot, 36-year-old Seankese “Sam” Johnson, officials said.Johnson, who had served in the military, accumulated 788 hours of total flight time, the NTSB said.
Johnson was “an amazing man,” said Matt Klier, his friend from the Navy and a fellow helicopter pilot.
Thursday’s deadly crash occurred at 3:17 p.m., just over 15 minutes into the flight, officials said. The helicopter reached the George Washington Bridge before turning south and crashing, officials said.
ABC News’ Leah Sarnoff, Sam Sweeney and Erin Murtha contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.