The helicopter rotor of last week’s mortal clash has recovered from the Hudson River, four days after the devastating accident that killed the six people on board, according to a statement from the National Board of Transportation Security.
The recovery of the rotor system included the transmission and the ceiling beam, the NTSB said Monday night, added: “They also recovered the tail rotor system.”
The main fuselage, which includes the cabin and the cabin, had already recovered, said the NTSB.
Rescue workers and emergency staff work at the scene of a helicopter accident on the Hudson River, near Lower Manhattan in New York, on April 10, 2025.
Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters
“The key components of the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River last week, were largely helping the investigation of the National Board of Transportation Security Board on the fatal accident,” said the statement, partly.
He accredited the efforts for the divers of the New York Police Department, the United States Army Engineers and the Emergency Management Office of the city of Jersey.
“The evidence will be brought to a safe location for a more detailed exam,” said the NTSB statement.
“Recovery efforts are now finished,” he added.
A helicopter that crashed on the Hudson River retires from the water, on May 15, 2019, in New York.
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
The pilot, Seankese “Sam” Johnson, was taking a family of Spanish tourists, Siemens Agustin Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and his children, 4, 8 and 10 years old, on a tour when the helicopter crashed on March 10.
The video showed that the helicopter immersed himself in the 5 -foot deep water near Jersey City, New Jersey, without his tail rotor or a main rotor blade.
The NTSB is investigating the cause of the accident. The helicopter was not equipped with any flight record, said the NTSB.
New York Helicopter Tours, the company behind the helicopter, has closed its operations, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said it will launch an immediate license and the security registration of the tourist operator.
