The NYC helicopter pilot that crashed into the Hudson River gave a chilling radio call moments before the catastrophic incident.
Top executive of global technology company Siemens Agustin Escobar, his wife and their three children, as well as the unnamed pilot, sadly plunged into the river on Thursday 10 April.
A heartbreaking photo of the family of five smiling in front of the helicopter were shared only moment before their deaths.
Escobar’s wife has been identified as Merce Camprubi Montal, global manager at an energy tech company. She had previously worked at Siemens Energy for seven years as a global commercialization manage, according to her social media.
Escobar’s old co-worker Juan Ignacio Diaz said: “No matter how hard things got, he always stayed calm and kept it together. He had this way of making things feel OK, even when they weren’t,”, “And he never forgot what mattered most — his family.”
He added: “He was such a great person — kind, steady, and always there when you needed him,”. “He was a loyal friend, someone you could really count on.”
Diaz, who previously worked at Siemens, also called Escobar “a true family man.”
“He loved his wife and kids so much — they were everything to him,” he said.
“He was a loving, fun, and just really cool dad,” Diaz said. “I’m going to miss him and his family.
“I love you my friend.”
The tourist helicopter broke apart mid-air before sadly landing in the river around 3.15pm.
Michael Roth, 71, who owned the chopper claims that the aircraft required fuel: ‘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,’ he told The Telegraph.
‘We’re all devastated. Every employee in our company is devastated. My wife has not stopped crying.’
‘The death of the child of any human being, is a monumental disaster,’ Roth added.
Witnessed claim the aircraft ‘split in half’ before it crashed down near Pier 40.
Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene while the other two died in hospital. What caused the crash is not yet clear, at the time of writing.
Heartbreaking, RIP.
