Hudson River helicopter crash investigators will probe pilot’s experience, possible mechanical failure involving ‘Jesus nut’: sources
Investigators probing the deadly Hudson River helicopter crash will zero in on everything from the possible mechanical failure of the craft’s “Jesus nut’’ to a potential drone collision or even sabotage, law enforcement sources told The Post on Friday.
The experience of the pilot, who was among the six killed, will also be examined as officials scramble to determine a cause of the tragedy that saw the sightseeing chopper break apart in midair and crash upside-down into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon.
As part of the investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board will examine whether the pilot was forced to make an “extreme maneuver” just moments before — or if the helicopter may have collided with some sort of object, according to the sources.
While a drone likely would not have been enough to bring the chopper down alone, a source noted such a collision could have forced the pilot to make an extreme maneuver in the immediate aftermath.
“It’s a question that will be asked,” a source said.
“If it was struck by something — either a drone or something else like a bird — did over-correction exacerbate what could have been a manageable thing into a tragedy?” the source said.
“There’s pilot error where pilots fly into weather and they shouldn’t. Then there’s pilot error … where something happens, and [does the pilot] know how to handle it.”
Preliminary data from drone detection infrastructure in Jersey City indicated that no drones were visible in the immediate vicinity around the time of the crash.
Still, sources said such data wasn’t definitive and that drone activity would “definitely” be a point of interest for officials as the probe unfolds.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the helicopter tour company operated its own drones to snap photos midflight.
Investigators also will be eying the aircraft’s “Jesus nut’’ — or the main hardware connecting its rotors to it, sources said.
The chopper’s rotors are still missing, NTSB officials said at a press conference Friday.
The pilot, Navy veteran Sean Johnson, 36, could have also experienced a massive transmission failure in the lead-up to the wreck, according to another source.
“It’s possible something happened with that transmission and the pilot tried to fight it rather than go into autorotation and then transmission seizes. … It’s possible,” the source said.
“Autorotation” means a helicopter’s engine has failed but the rotor is still spinning due to air rushing over it, and allows the pilot to glide the craft to a safe landing. It is a safety technique commonly taught to helicopter pilots.
The initial source said officials will be looking at whether the pilot was forced into an evasive maneuver.
“If there was a failure — such as a transmission failure — evasive maneuvers are fine in flying … it’s when they’re violent, or unnatural, they can cause problems,” the source said.
“It’s when [there] are extreme [maneuvers], or if a pilot is unnecessarily fighting the helicopter, the ends of rotor blades could strike off a tail boom. This is beyond rare.”
Stay up to date on the Hudson River helicopter crash:
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- New York Helicopter Tours shuts down after Hudson River crash that killed 6: FAA
- Pilot of doomed Hudson River helicopter ID’d as Navy SEAL veteran who had posted chilling video month before death
- Disturbing video shows moment helicopter plummets into Hudson River, killing six
- NTSB report reveals disturbing new details in doomed tourist helicopter that crashed into Hudson, killing 6
A law-enforcement source said investigators are leaning toward the issue being a mechanical problem.
The probable cause of death for at least the four victims declared dead at the scene will likely be trauma to the body, the source said. The other two victims died at the hospital.
The pilot’s body was among the six pulled from the Hudson late Thursday in the wake of the tragedy.
Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three young children – ages 4, 8 and 10 years old — were also killed in the wreck.
Given Escobar’s executive role, sources said, probers also have to examine whether sabotage could have played a role in the tragedy.
Preliminary, there was nothing to indicate the family were targeted, the sources said.
Horrifying footage of the crash suggested that a “catastrophic mechanical failure” left the pilot with no chance to save the helicopter, according to Justin Green, an aviation lawyer who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps.
It is possible the helicopter’s main rotors struck the tail boom — breaking it apart and causing the cabin to free-fall and plunge into the frigid waters, 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.”
Another thing investigators will home in on as part of the probe is the pilot’s records and flying time, sources said.
“One thing the NTSB is going to look at is not only flight hours, but flight hours in New York City … Tourism is a popular place for newer pilots to gain hours quickly,” the source speculated.
“All these things will be looked at.”
The family had just arrived in the Big Apple from Barcelona earlier in the day and immediately set off on the sightseeing flight, according to law-enforcement sources.
Gut-wrenching photos showed the couple and their children smiling in front of the doomed chopper just before the flight took off.
“So this is probably part of the normal tourist attraction of seeing the city from the skyline,” Hizzoner told FOX5 New York. “But it’s just a real unfortunate situation. And our heart goes out to the family members.”
The 8-year-old, Mercedes Escobar Camprubi, was set to celebrate her birthday Friday, according to Mayor Eric Adams and Jersey City, NJ, officials in touch with relatives. The mom had recently celebrated her 40th birthday, according to sources.
-Additional reporting by Larry Celona
