The remains of several geese were found on a New York City sightseeing helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River last year and killed 6 people, investigators said Thursday, strong suggestions that multiple bird strikes contributed to the tragedy.
Reports from the National Transportation Safety Board were not final and do not identify a definitive cause of the crash. But they describe evidence that supports bird strikes before the helicopter plummeted into the river on April 10, 2025.
The Federal Aviation Administration has said that helicopters are especially vulnerable to bird strikes because they fly at low altitudes. Strikes can turn out to be devastating.
“It seems pretty clear to me that the breakup of that helicopter was precipitated by several bird strikes,” said aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, who read the key findings. “Not just one but several — and birds of a different feather.”
He noted damage to the aircraft’s horizontal stabilizer, a key part of the helicopter.
“Without it, the helicopter could become very unstable and difficult to fly,” Guzzetti said.
The victims of last year’s accident included a Siemens business executive from Spain, his family and the pilot, Seankese Johnson, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran who received his commercial license in 2023.
Passengers Agustin Escobar, 49; his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39; and their three children, Victor, 4; Mercedes, 8; and Agustin, 10, all died.
The crash renewed safety concerns about the popular sightseeing flights and prompted New Jersey’s governor to ask for additional restrictions on nonessential helicopter flights.
Remains of several geese were found on the helicopter’s rotors and left horizontal stabilizer. One witness told the NTSB that just minutes before the crash a large flock of geese took flight in the area.
“The geese were big and there were many of them. When the helicopter went bang, I immediately thought it was a bird strike,” the witness told NTSB investigators.
The Smithsonian Institution’s Feather Identification Lab identified remains from different breeds of geese on the wreckage, including a female Canada goose, which can average nearly 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms).
Guzzetti said it’s reasonable to conclude “the pilot is not culpable here.”
“Birds are everywhere, and pilots have limitations with their eyesight,” he said.
The report, however, noted that a control panel switch to turn on pulsing lights to help deter birds was missing. The tour company’s former chief pilot said the light system was not mandatory during daylight rides, according to investigators.