A bird strike most likely caused the helicopter crash in the Hudson River that killed six people near New York City last year, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday.
The NTSB found bird remains in the wreckage of the Bell 206L-4 helicopter and the surrounding area.
A family of five from Spain, including three children, and the pilot died in the April 2025 crash.
The crash happened about 17 minutes into a helicopter tour that took off from lower Manhattan just before 3 p.m. on April 10, 2025, went by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor and up the Hudson River, offering aerial views of New York City. The helicopter fell into the Hudson as it was making its way back down the river by New Jersey.
Following the crash, the tour company, New York Helicopter Charter Inc., shut down.
According to the NTSB report, pieces of the helicopter’s main rotor blade and a severed bird wing were found on the ground and on rooftops about 2,000 feet away from where the wreckage was recovered.
A specialist from the Smithsonian Institution’s feather identification lab conducted sampling of the wreckage, according to the report. Additional sampling was done by the NTSB’s lab to confirm the discovery of bird remains.
A witness told NTSB investigators that just before the accident she saw a large flock of geese take flight.
«The geese were big and there were many of them. When the helicopter went bang, I immediately thought it was a bird strike,» the witness said, according to the report.
Multiple witnesses told the investigators they heard loud bangs and pops coming from the helicopter before it broke apart midair and fell into the Hudson.
Surveillance video captured the helicopter suddenly breaking into three sections: the fuselage; the main rotor system that includes the two main rotor blades and the transmission; and the tail boom, which includes the tail rotor.
According to the report, the toggle switch for a system designed to flash lights to try and prevent bird strikes was missing in the helicopter’s wreckage from an overhead panel above the pilot’s seat. The chief pilot for the tour company told investigators that using the system was voluntary and wasn’t required during the day.
The FAA said New York Helicopter Charter’s license remains suspended and the agency says its working closely with the NTSB on the investigation.
The owner of the company, Michael Roth, told CBS News New York he feels the FAA should restore his license.
«They should not only give me a license back, they also compensate me to get back in the business. And I want the city of New York to restore my license at the downtown heliport, which they wrongfully took,» Roth said.
Read the report
