NTSB also said, “No onboard video recorders or camera recorders have been retrieved.”
Divers continue to use “side scan sonars” to search the Hudson River water for the remains of the crashed tourist helicopter that killed six people last week, but on April 12 the aircraft said the aircraft was not equipped with flight recorders.
Divers at the New York Police Department are looking for the helicopter main rotors, main gearboxes, tail rotors and most of the tail boom. Side scan sonar is used to identify potential debris. According to the NTSB, recovery work continues on April 13th.
So far, divers have recovered major fuselages, including the cockpit and cabin, the front part of the tail boom, horizontal stabilizer finlets and vertical fins. The NTSB said some of the recovered parts will be sent to a Washington laboratory for further inspection.
The agency said the investigator met with representatives from the New York Helicopter Charter, a helicopter operator, to confirm operational records, policies and procedures, safety management systems and pilot experience. The NTSB also inspects two similar helicopters.
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The Federal Aviation Administration, Bell Helicopters and Rolls-Royce contributed to the investigation. The NTSB said it will release more information as it becomes available.
Six people were killed after helicopters arrived at the Hudson River, just off Manhattan, before reaching the Hudson River, just off Manhattan, according to the New York Police Department.
Team members of the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the wreckage recovered from a Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that hit the Hudson River on April 10, 2025 near Jersey City, New Jersey. Provided by NTSB
His wife, Merce Camprubi Montal and three children, ages 4, 5 and 11, also died along with a 36-year-old aircraft pilot.
NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said on April 11 that U.S. Navy veteran Seankese Johnson, a pilot, acquired a commercial pilot license in 2023, accumulating around 800 flight hours by March.
Catabella Roberts contributed to this report.
