NYC Helicopter Crash

Agustin Escobar, a Siemens executive from Barcelona, Spain, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their children, ages 4, 8, and 10, were killed in the crash. Photo from just before the flight

Let’s talk about the dramatic and tragic helicopter crash in NYC yesterday. A Bell 206 (a venerable, long-serving airframe in both military and civil applications) appears to have broke apart over the Hudson River while flying what seems like a routine tourist flight.

Juan Browne (aka Blancolirio) over on YouTube has a video on it that goes into some detail on available information:

The pilot has been identified by news sources as Sean Johnson. Media is reporting that Johnson had radioed that he was out of gas, but it’s clear from the video that he didn’t simply run out of fuel.

Newsies are also reporting that Johnson was a former Navy SEAL. Our sources in the Navy SEAL community say that he was a rating (gunner’s mate) in a SEAL supporting command. While not a special operator, our sources indicate that he was very well liked/regarded by those in the teams.

Category: Breaking News, Navy, SEALs, Veterans in the news