Off The Record
Faulty ‘Jesus Nut’ Suspected In Deadly Helicopter Plunge
In the midst of conjecture on the cause of the helicopter crash in New York, the bereaved family of the victims posted a devastating remembrance on Thursday.
It comes after aviation expert Julian Bray hypothesized that the accident might have been caused by a malfunctioning “Jesus nut,” which holds the entire rotor assembly together.
Prior to the catastrophic incident that same day, Siemens’ Spanish president, Agustín Escobar, and his family had only arrived in the city earlier on Thursday.
The 36-year-old pilot was murdered along with Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their four, five, and eleven-year-old children.
Bray said the helicopter blades would have broken loose from the rotor while still in motion due to the defective ‘Jesus nut’.
Bray told The Sun that the chopper’s body would have been torn apart by the spinning blades as it detached, before it plummeted into the ocean below.
Video captured the helicopter’s deadly drop into the Hudson River, with the spinning blades seen to fall apart from the aircraft’s main fuselage.
Before hitting the ocean, the Bell 206 helicopter was also observed shattering in two.
Bray told the Sun: “What appears to have happened with this particular helicopter is that the rotor, the main rotor… had detached, because in one video we see the blades spinning away from the helicopter.”
“But this appears to have sliced through the back half of the helicopter, so the fuselage then drops like a stone into the river Hudson right opposite Pier 41.”
“There is a particular procedure which has to be checked every time it’s serviced, and it’s known as the Jesus Bolt… because without that the whole thing falls apart.”
“It looks as though it’s [the] Jesus bolt or Jesus PIN… It’s either defective or wasn’t tightened up, or for some reason it sheared,” Bray added.
On Friday, Joan Camprubí Montal shared a tragic letter on X that was signed by 19 members of the Camprubí Montal and Escobar families. “Thankful for your support that keeps us strong,” it said.
“The Escobar-Camprubís will always be among us, with their joy and vitality. We love you family.”
The letter was posted alongside a photo of the family in Times Square read, “There are no words to describe what we are experiencing, nor to thank you for the warmth received.”
“These are very difficult times, but optimism and joy have always characterized our family. We want to preserve the memory of a happy and united family, in the sweetest moment of their lives.”
The family revealed that they had found comfort in the fact that the young family ‘went away together’ and that they would be traveling to New York to bring the victims’ bodies home.
“They have gone away together, leaving an indelible mark among all their family, friends and acquaintances.”
“In the coming days we will send you the details of the farewell ceremony they deserve, but in the meantime, we ask for the utmost respect for their privacy, given the global impact of this tragedy and the involvement of the three minors.”
“Your support keeps us strong, and the Escobar-Camprubí will always be with us and in our hearts. Escobar Cañadas Family: Agustín, Josefina, María José, Jose, Jose, Irene and Jorge. Camprubi Montal Family: Joan, Merche, Joan, Cristina, Berta, Albert, Jan, Bru, Berta, Teo, Alex and Anna.”
At approximately 3:15 p.m., the helicopter was observed plummeting into the murky Hudson River near the New Jersey side.
“From the footage, it appears that the main rotor struck the body of the helicopter, cutting off the tail of the helicopter, which created an unrecoverable event,” former military aviator and attorney Jim Brauchle of Motley Rice LLC told DailyMail.com.
Excessive maneuvering or mechanical breakdown are the two primary reasons of this problem. Nevertheless, a thorough study is required to determine the cause of this tragedy.
“Having previously represented the families of tourists killed during a helicopter tour over the Hudson River, my heart goes out to the families at this catastrophic time.”
A “catastrophic mechanical failure” left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter, said Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps.
The primary rotors of the helicopter might have collided with the tail boom, shattering it and sending the cabin plummeting to the ground, Green added.
“They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened,” Green said. “There’s no indication they had any control over the craft. No pilot could have prevented that accident once they lost the lifts. It’s like a rock falling to the ground. It’s heartbreaking.”
One man compared the noise coming from the plane to a “sonic boom.”
The family was shown in heartbreaking pictures smiling broadly as they got ready to board the helicopter and for a city sky tour.
Escobar’s wife giggled beside their smallest child, while the other young children sat on the helicopter, one of them giving a thumbs up like his father, who was seated across from him.
Another photo showed one of their kids laughing while strapped up beside the pilot in front of the chopper.
According to Spanish publication Antena3, the family was celebrating the birthday of one of their young kids while on vacation in New York.
According to 71-year-old Michael Roth, owner of New York Helicopter, which supplied the tour and the helicopter, the plane was running low on fuel prior to the disaster.
“He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,” Roth told The Telegraph.
Roth expressed his sadness over the collision and concurred with other experts that the primary rotor blades appeared to have broken off in the footage.
“The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,” he told the New York Post.
“And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business. The only thing I could guess – I got no clue – is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don’t know.”
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, four people were declared dead at the spot, and two more died in the hospital.
The video shows the chopper flying ‘erratically’ moments before it plunged into the ocean, even though the skies were clear at the time.
Both the chopper’s pilot and the five-member tourist family were on board.
“Our hearts go out to the families of those who were onboard,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “All six have been removed from the water, and sadly all six victims were pronounced dead.”
Late Thursday night, emergency personnel were observed removing the wrecked helicopter’s remains from the muddy Hudson River. Images showed a crane removing twisted metal chunks from the river.
About 3:19 p.m. on Thursday, 30-year-old engineer Rashmi Kamkeri was working remotely from her Newport Park apartment when she heard a loud crash.
“It was horrifying,” Kamkeri told DailyMail.com. “I thought it was thunder and ten seconds later I saw the helicopter 10 feet above the water falling and then it made a big splash and went underneath the water.”
“I panicked… then saw a piece of the helicopter fall into the water. The Waterway boat was moving and then it took a turn.”
“I was almost in tears praying that someone would come and save them. I wished there would be someone who survives. I am so sad.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Escobar spent more than 27 years working for the IT giant Siemens, most recently as the worldwide CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility. He briefly served as Siemens Spain’s president and CEO in late 2022.
He thanked his family, “my endless source of energy and happiness,” for their unwavering support, love, and patience in a post about the role.
Escobar frequently traveled abroad for work, notably to India and the UK in the last month, and frequently wrote about the value of sustainability in the rail sector. Since 2023, he has served as vice president of the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustin Escobar and his family lost their lives. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all their loved ones,” Siemens said in a statement early Friday.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Camprubí Montal spent almost seven years working for Siemens Energy, an energy technology firm based in Barcelona, Spain, where she held positions as a digitalization manager and a worldwide commercialization manager.
According to representatives of the regional government of Spain, the family lived in Barcelona.
“(I am) dismayed by the tragic helicopter accident in the Hudson River in New York which cost the lives of six people, five of which were members of a Barcelona family,” Catalan regional president Salvador Illa wrote on X.
Agustin Escobar was originally from Puertollano, a town in central Spain, according to another regional official.
“I want to express my sorrow for the traffic helicopter accident in New York that claimed the lives of Agustín Escobar and his family,” Castilla La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page wrote on X.
“Agustín is native of Puertollano and in 2023 we named him a Favorite Son of Castilla La Mancha.”
Since 1977, helicopter crashes in New York City have claimed the lives of at least 32 people.
Five people were killed in the most recent disaster, which occurred in 2018 when a helicopter fell into the East River.
According to the NTSB, the helicopter crashed on March 11, 2018, when the tail of the aircraft became stuck on the fuel shutoff lever.
Every passenger on board perished from drowning. They were identified as Carla Vallejos-Blanco, 29, Trevor Cadigan, 26, Brian McDaniel, 26, and Daniel Thompson, 34.
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