New York Hudson river helicopter crash: Siemens CEO Agustin Escobar, wife, 3 kids dead. Who is he?

Siemens CEO and president Agustin Escobar was killed in a deadly mid-air helicopter crash upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront on April 10 around 3:15 pm (local time), which also claimed lives of his wife and three children, New York Post reported. According to authorities, four victims were declared dead at the scene, while two others passed away at the hospital.

The children were of all middle school age or younger. Escobar's family had recently visited New York from Barcelona for a vacation. A photo has emerged showing the family of five posing in front of a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV helicopter. The pilot's identity and cause of crash remain unknown.

The Daily Mail reported that the emergency services received calls at nearly 3:17 pm, just 17 minutes after the helicopter departed from downtown Manhattan.

Life and Career of Agustin Escobar

Escobar was the president of the Spanish branch of the technology company Siemens. He was the CEO of Siemens Mobility Southwest Europe since 2019 and vice president of the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain for more than a year, according to Spain Investors Today.

He served as CEO of the Energy Management Division and the Infrastructure & Cities Sector in Latin America from 2014 to 2018. He was CEO of the Infrastructure & Cities Sector for two years. He became the Corporate Director of Strategy and International Business Development of Siemens in North America, serving numerous roles in Spain from 1998 to 2010, mainly in the energy sector.

He graduated in industrial engineering from Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid and brought more than 25 years of global experience in the energy and transportation sectors, leading teams across the Latin America, United States and Spain.

Details of the Hudson River Helicopter Crash

One of the victims saw the helicopter "falling apart" in the air, including the tail and propeller coming off, while another stated the helicopter was "spinning pretty fast" as it fell and hit the water “really hard”, reported AP. The Federal Aviation Administration, which is probing the incident besides the National Transportation Safety Board, said the aircraft was a Bell 206 helicopter.

An aviation lawyer, Justin Greens, who was a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps, initially felt the crash video indicated that a “catastrophic mechanical failure” left the pilot with no moment to save the helicopter. “They were dead as soon as whatever happened happened. There’s no indication they had any control over the craft. No pilot could have prevented that accident once they lost the lifts. It’s like a rock falling to the ground. It’s heartbreaking,” he added.

“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,” The Telegraph quoted Michael Roth, 71, owner of New York Helicopter, as saying. He confirmed that the aircraft ran out of fuel just minutes after the flight took off.