This information is preliminary and subject to change.
Update: 7 May 2025
On April 10, 2025, about 1515 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206L-4 helicopter, N216MH, rapidly descended into the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey. The six occupants were fatally injured. The helicopter was being operated by New York Helicopters as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 air tour flight.
Preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) flight track data obtained
from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed the helicopter departed Downtown
Manhattan/Wall Street Heliport (JRB), New York, New York, about 1458. The helicopter flew a
teardrop pattern south of the Statue of Liberty, then proceeded north along the east side of the
Hudson River adjacent to Manhattan, past the George Washington Bridge, where it performed
a u-turn, then headed south along the New Jersey side of the river.
Figure above depicts the plot of the helicopter’s ADS-B-observed flight path for the final 1 minute of flight, with the reported time, altitude and groundspeed superimposed. As the helicopter
approached the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers near Jersey City, New Jersey, it was at a
geometric altitude between 625 and 650 ft. The helicopter’s altitude increased to 675 ft msl before it entered a rapid descent. The data ended at 1514:54.5 and the helicopter’s last
observed altitude was 125 ft.
Investigative update 14 April 2025
Key components of the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River last week were recovered Monday, greatly aiding the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the fatal accident.
Divers from the New York Police Department worked with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Jersey City Office of Emergency Management to find, recover and secure the helicopter’s main rotor system, including the transmission, and the roof beam. They also recovered the tail rotor system. The evidence will be taken to a secure location for further examination.
Recovery efforts are now finished.
The NTSB continues to ask witnesses to the crash who may have video or photos of any aspect of the accident sequence or have information that could be relevant to the investigation to email the NTSB at [email protected].
Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
