Tragic helicopter crash that killed vacationing family was due to ‘willful’ neglect: lawsuit

The horrific Hudson River helicopter crash that killed a vacationing family of five last year was no freak accident — but a “predictable” result of the tour operator’s “wanton” negligence, grieving relatives claimed in a new lawsuit.

Six people died — including Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three young children, ages 4, 8 and 10 — when their sightseeing helicopter broke apart and plunged into the river just 16 minutes after takeoff on April 10, 2025.

Agustin Escobar and his family, with two adults and three children, posing in front of a New York Helicopter in front of the Hudson River.
Mercè Camprubí Montal, her husband, Agustin Escobar, and their children were all killed in the crash just over a year ago.New York Helicopter Tours LLC
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Montal’s brother, Camprubi Montal, on behalf of his relatives’ estates, alleges the chopper’s owners, New York Helicopter Charter Inc. and its CEO, Michael Roth, operated with “willful and wanton disregard” for human life.

The family members “all experienced severe pre-impact terror and fear from impending death, and all suffered severe physical pain, mental anguish and terror prior to perishing,” states the suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday.

Roth allegedly ignored maintenance he was responsible for, including a critical 2022 Federal Aviation Administration notice, called an Airworthiness Directive, the suit states.

A helicopter wreckage partially submerged in the Hudson River, surrounded by two patrol boats.
The helicopter crash in the Hudson River killed all six people on board.Obtained by the NY Post
The FAA notice required “repetitive inspection” of the main rotor blades of the leased Bell 206L-4 helicopter to identify signs of the blade’s components separating, also called delamination.

“Once delamination occurs, the main rotor blades are subject to premature failure,” the suit states, adding that it could have caused the “mechanical failure of the tailboom” that led to the tragic midair separation and crash.

The suit also alleges that the company lacked a “properly qualified” safety officer, and that Roth retaliated against his director of operations by firing him a mere 16 minutes after he complied with an FAA request for the company to cease all flights until the investigation was complete.

Illustration of a helicopter's ADS-B observed flight path during its final minute of flight over the Hudson River, with a table showing time, speed, and altitude.
An NTSB diagram showing the doomed helicopter’s flight during its final minute over the Hudson River, with a table showing time, speed, and altitude.NTSB
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board have not finalized their investigations on the cause of the crash yet, according to their websites.

Roth told The Post that his company “did nothing wrong — it was the fault of the main rotor blades.”

“The only thing that I can say is we are horrified of the unfortunate family dying in this tragic accident and of our pilot,” he said in a phone call Tuesday, referring to chopper pilot and Navy veteran Sean Johnson, 36, who was also killed.

He then went on to claim that “these blades should have never been approved for use” by the FAA.

“I don’t use those blades anymore,” he added.

Agustin Escobar, Merce Camprubí Montal and family in Times Square, NYC.
Agustin Escobar, Merce Camprubí Montal and family in Times Square, NYC.Joan Camprubí Montal
When asked about the FAA’s requirement for the blades to be repeatedly inspected, he said he wasn’t responsible for maintenance because the helicopter was leased.

 

“I don’t think you’re listening,” he said when asked who was responsible for inspecting the blades, “I think you have your own narrative.”