What happened
On April 10, 2025, at approximately 1515 EDT, a Bell 206L-4 helicopter, registration N216MH, crashed near Jersey City, New Jersey. The aircraft was operating as a Part 91 air tour flight. The accident resulted in 6 fatal injuries, involving the pilot and five passengers.
According to ADS-B flight track data, the helicopter departed the Downtown Manhattan/Wall Street Heliport (JRB) at approximately 1458. The flight path included a teardrop pattern south of the Statue of Liberty, a northbound leg along the east side of the Hudson River past the George Washington Bridge, a u-turn, and a southbound leg along the New Jersey side of the river.
As the helicopter approached the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers, its altitude increased to 675 ft MSL before entering a rapid descent. The final ADS-B observation recorded the aircraft at an altitude of 125 ft at 1514:54.5.
Witnesses reported hearing several loud bangs before the helicopter broke apart and descended into the river. Surveillance video captured the aircraft separating into three primary sections: the fuselage (including the engine), the main rotor system (including the blades, transmission, and roof-beam structure), and the tail boom (including the tail rotor).
The inverted fuselage came to rest in approximately 6 feet of water north of the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers. The main rotor and tail boom sections were located north of the fuselage in water approximately 30 feet deep. Debris was also found on the river surface and on a rooftop near the Hoboken, New Jersey, transit building.
The investigation
The helicopter was not equipped with any onboard video or data recording devices. However, the pilot was noted to be wearing augmented reality sunglasses with recording capabilities, though these were not recovered.
At the time of the accident, the pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with rotorcraft-helicopter and instrument helicopter ratings, along with a first-class medical certificate. The pilot had 790.2 total flight hours, with 48.6 hours in this specific make and model. The accident flight was the pilot's first flight following a 10-day period off duty.
Maintenance records showed the most recent 100-hour and progressive 300-hour inspection was completed on February 27, 2025. At that time, the airframe had 12,975 total hours and the engine had 23,305 total hours. The aircraft had flown approximately 50 hours since that inspection.
Weather conditions at the time of the accident were visual meteorological conditions (VMC) with 10 statute miles of visibility and winds from 150 degrees at 10 knots.