(Update with NTSB analysis of the flight control system and the helicopter operating company)
New York, Apr 12 (EFE) .- Research on the accident of a helicopter last Thursday that fell to the waters of the Hudson River, in which five Spanish tourists and an American pilot died, continued this Saturday with teams of divers who toured the area to try to recover parts of the aircraft and advance other investigations.
The National Board of Transportation Security (NTSB), in charge of the investigation, detailed the eve that since Friday has deployed a team of 17 professionals, who consider several hypotheses but that “you want to avoid speculation” and offer more details soon.
Several vessels remained mobilized on the coast of Jersey City (New Jersey), a neighboring city of New York and in whose waters the aircraft impacted, as EFE could record this Saturday early in the afternoon.
In fact, divers teams are still searching in the Hudson, where it is believed there are still parts of the helicopter, including the rotor and the tail rotor, submerged at approximately 12 meters deep. These operations will continue tomorrow Sunday.
In turn, the NTSB explained that its researchers have begun to evaluate the flight control system of the device, that no airplane system aboard the aircraft recorded information that could be used for the investigation and that its officials have already met with representatives of the company that provided the service to thoroughly investigate its operations.
The deceased family was made up of Siemens Agustín Escobar executives and his wife Mercè Camprubí, as well as their children of 10, 8 and 4 years. The pilot was Seankese ‘Sean’ Johnson, a 36 -year -old African -American military.
The loud fall of the helicopter to water, in which it was possible to see how it lost parts of its fuselage in the air, occurred around 15:15 local time (19:15 GMT) on Thursday and caused the mobilization of the divers of the fire department, as well as the New York Police and the New Jersey neighbor, who took the victims from the river, the victims already took out the victims and the victims and the victims and the victims and the victims and the victims and the victims and the victims and the victims already the aircraft.
This Saturday, the Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, and Joan Camprubí, brother of Mercè, made, together with other authorities, a floral offering in the river channel as a tribute to the deceased.
Adams and Camprubí externalized their shared pain in an appearance before the press, but no new details of the investigation were contributed.
The helicopter took off from the lower part of Manhattan in the direction to the south, before flying north to the George Washington bridge, and then went back to the south following the New Jersey coast, when he lost control at the height of the city of Hoboken.
Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop said yesterday that the main body of the aircraft is located at the facilities of the Army Corps of Engineers in Jersey City.
“Three theories were discussed. There was the debate about a possible mishap with birds, or with drones or some mechanical failure. We will see what happens,” Fulop added, without clarifying whether these theories remain the main ones in the investigation.
In addition, Jersey City police recovered pieces of metal that arrived on Thursday at the coast of this city, along with a life jacket, a seat and other belongings.
Witness reports on bird floods are also being investigated at the time of the accident.
Johnson, the pilot who had warned minutes before he was running out of fuel, had 788 hours of total flight, but it is not known how many in the Bell helicopter.
The accident has again aroused an intense debate about the regulation of the activity of the so -called “non -essential flights”, which include tourist helicopters and “aerial taxis” that allow Manhattan’s cumbersome traffic to skip to reach the airport faster to the airport and the closest beaches.
This traffic last year added about 80,000 flights on Manhattan, who were starring people with high purchasing power, since each flight costs at least 250 dollars per person and journey. EFE
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