Helicopter in Hudson River crash registered to Louisiana company, FAA records show
A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday
Updated: 4:57 PM CDT Apr 10, 2025
A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, killing six people in the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the U.S., according to witnesses and a law enforcement official.FlightRadar24 identified the helicopter as a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV, registered with the Federal Aviation Administration under N216MH.The FAA registry shows the aircraft being registered to Meridian Helicopter LLC, a company in Broussard, La.WDSU reached out to the company for a statement and is still waiting for a response.The New York Fire Department said it received a report of the crash at 3:17 p.m. All six people aboard were killed, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.Witness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, said she saw the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water.Advertisement“There was a bunch of smoke coming out. It was spinning pretty fast, and it landed in the water really hard,” she said in a phone interview.Video posted to social media showed parts of the chopper splashing into the water, and the overturned aircraft was submerged, with rescue boats circling it.
A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, killing six people in the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the U.S., according to witnesses and a law enforcement official.
FlightRadar24 identified the helicopter as a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV, registered with the Federal Aviation Administration under N216MH.
The FAA registry shows the aircraft being registered to Meridian Helicopter LLC, a company in Broussard, La.
WDSU reached out to the company for a statement and is still waiting for a response.
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We’re following reports of a helicopter crash in the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. At this time, based on ADS-B data and the location of SAR activity, we believe the aircraft involved to be N216MH, a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV.https://t.co/hp2b2oU5Vc pic.twitter.com/kGLiU7V6rc
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 10, 2025
The New York Fire Department said it received a report of the crash at 3:17 p.m. All six people aboard were killed, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.
Witness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.
Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, said she saw the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water.
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“There was a bunch of smoke coming out. It was spinning pretty fast, and it landed in the water really hard,” she said in a phone interview.
Video posted to social media showed parts of the chopper splashing into the water, and the overturned aircraft was submerged, with rescue boats circling it.
