The Spanish family killed in a helicopter crash on Thursday had taken a New York skyline sightseeing tour to celebrate the mother’s birthday.
Mercè Camprubí Montal, from Barcelona footballing royalty, died alongside her husband, Agustín Escobar, a well-known Siemens business executive, and their three children, when the aircraft plunged into the Hudson River.
The aircraft crashed upside down in the freezing water just off from Jersey City at high speed at 3.15pm local time.
The helicopter’s pilot was on Friday named Sean Johnson, a 36-year-old Navy seal veteran.
Mr Johnson, who recently moved to New York, shared videos of himself piloting helicopters over Manhattan on Facebook.
It has emerged that New York Helicopter Charter, the firm that operated the aircraft, has a history of mechanical problems.
In 2013, one of its helicopters was forced to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River. Two years later, another of its aircraft crashed shortly after taking off in northern New Jersey.
The victims of Thursday’s crash, visiting from Barcelona, had hired the helicopter ride as part of Ms Camprubí Montal’s 40th birthday celebrations, Steven Fulop the mayor of Jersey City, said.
The family died one day before the middle child’s 8th birthday, Eric Adams, mayor of New York, added.
The children were reportedly aged four to 11. Pictures taken moments before the crash showed the family of five smiling while onboard. In one image, a child could be seen sitting next to the driver in the front seat.
Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister who is on an official visit to China, described the crash as an “unimaginable tragedy”.
He wrote on X: “I sympathise with the victims’ loved ones in this heartbreaking moment. Five Spaniards from the same family, three of them children, and the pilot have lost their lives. An unimaginable tragedy.”
Credit: Bruce Wall
FC Barcelona dynasty
Ms Camprubí Montal was part of a dynasty whose fame stemmed from its involvement with Barcelona Football Club and was a relative of two former presidents of Catalonia’s dominant sporting institution.
She also worked as the global commercialisation manager of Siemens Energy, having worked at the German industrial giant for nine years.
She was the granddaughter of Agustí Montal Costa, whose tenure as the FC Barcelona president between 1969 and 1977 was marked by Johan Cruyff’s arrival at the club, with the Dutchman as a player and later as a coach making FC Barcelona one of Europe’s most successful teams throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The mother of three was also the great-granddaughter of Agustí Montal Galobart, who served as the president of FC Barcelona from 1946 to 1952, according to La Vanguardia, the Spanish newspaper.
Mercè Camprubí Montal and Agustín Escobar were celebrating her 40th birthday with the helicopter trip – Unpixs
Her brother, Joan Camprubí Montal, was a candidate in 2024 to preside over the football team before pulling out of the race.
Her husband was from the city of Puertollano in Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region and had worked as an executive at Siemens Spain for more than 20 years.
Mr Escobar, whose success and popularity had led to him being named a “favourite son” of Puertollano, had led Siemens projects in Latin America and held the position of chief executive of the company in Spain between 2022 and 2024.
Since November, he had been working as global executive director of rail infrastructure at Siemens, based at the company’s Berlin headquarters.
Mr Escobar had been visiting London to check in on Siemens’s UK operations before his trip to the US.
Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens, said the company was “deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend, Agustin Escobar, and his beloved family.”
He added: “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Agustin’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. We will miss him and his family immensely.”
Antonio Garamendi, chairman of CEOE, Spain’s main national business association, said the loss of Mr Escobar was “heartbreaking”, and thanked the engineer for his “tireless commitment to innovation”.
As he shared photographs of himself with Mr Escobar in a post on X, Mr Garamendi said: “Your legacy will remain.”
Agustí Montal Costa, who died in 2017, was the president of FC Barcelona from 1969 – 1977
A ‘favourite son’ of home city
Miguel Angel Ruiz, the mayor of Puertollano, said in a statement on behalf of the municipality: “He was an outstanding professional in the field of engineering and business management.
“Puertollano city council conveys its condolences to the relatives, friends and loved ones of Agustin Escobar and his family, and accompanies in grief all those who mourn his loss today. The city deeply regrets the departure of one of its most brilliant and committed sons.”
Witnesses of the crash said they saw the helicopter “split in half” before it went down near Pier 40. Footage showed it flying “erratically” just before it fell into the water.
Four people were pronounced dead at the scene and two later died in hospital.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, said: “Our hearts go out to the families of those who were onboard. All six have been removed from the water and sadly all six victims were pronounced dead.”
Donald Trump, the US president, also sent his condolences via social media, saying: “God bless the families and friends of the victims.”
The skies above New York City are often filled with helicopters taking private, commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads used by people, including business executives, to travel across the metropolitan area.
Since 1977, at least 32 people have been killed in helicopter crashes in New York City.
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