Off The Record
He Survived Warzones… But Not This Flight — NYC Helicopter Pilot Identified
Sean Johnson, a veteran of the Navy SEALs, has been identified as the pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River in New York.
The plane, which New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed was flown by New York Helicopters, fell into the Hudson River yesterday, April 10, at 3:17 p.m. Eastern Time.
Later, it was verified that all six of the passengers had perished.
Officials confirmed that Siemens executive Agustín Escobar of Barcelona, Spain, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children, ages eleven, five, and four, were the victims of the flight.
Sean Johnson, a former Navy SEAL, has been confirmed as the pilot in the latest development.
The owner of the chopper, Michael Roth, 71, has since told The Telegraph: “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.”
Before relocating to New York to start his aviation profession, Johnson had been a celebrity bodyguard.
His wife, Kathryn Johnson, has spoken out following the devastating news. She told the Gothamist, “I’m just at loss for words. I don’t even know what happened.”
“It’s just hard right now.”
Meanwhile, Johnson’s co-pilot, Earl Watters, said on Facebook, “With a heavy heart I post this…Thanks to everyone that has reached out to me. 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.”
Max, an eyewitness to the collision, told ABC News that he first heard about the tragedy before saw the aftermath.
He said, “It sounded like a sonic boom so I look up and literally I saw helicopter splitting in 2, with the rotor flying off in the sky it was going so fast and it just went straight into the water.”
“Nothing came up afterwards it must have just sunk and that was it, and then I just waited here and like five minutes later we started seeing the police and stuff come.”
“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.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to investigate the collision.
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