The relatives of the Catalan couple who died a year ago with their three children when the helicopter in which they were traveling crashed over the Hudson River (New York) have sued the company that operated the tourist tour, as well as the owner of said company. The civil lawsuit, filed Monday in state court in Manhattan, alleges that the company, New York Helicopter Charter Inc., and its owner, Michael Roth, were negligent in managing the flight that took off in the early afternoon of April 10, 2025.
The lawsuit maintains that this led to the wrongful death of the five members of the Escobar-Camprubì family, who were visiting New York City. The family is seeking a jury trial, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. A similar case resulted last year in compensation of $90 million for the death of the only passenger on board in an accident that occurred seven years earlier.
The lawsuit alleges that the Bell 206L-4 helicopter took off from the Lower Manhattan heliport around 3 p.m. on the day of the accident and subsequently disintegrated “suddenly” in mid-air near the ventilation towers of the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side of the river. “All passengers ultimately suffered serious personal injuries and lost their lives after experiencing indescribable fear and terror at the imminence of death,” the lawsuit states.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) called three days later the company’s then director of operations, requesting that it cease its activities until the investigations into the accident were concluded, according to the file. However, within about an hour, Roth “communicated” to federal officials that he would not stop operations and that the director was no longer an employee of the company, the complaint states. Shortly thereafter, the FAA ordered the company to close, citing the director’s dismissal as the reason.
The plaintiffs allege that the operator failed to perform required maintenance and ignored policies and procedures intended to protect passengers. They also claim that it was not ensured that the pilot, who also died in the accident, was “properly trained and competent to handle any in-flight emergency,” and that it did not inspect the main rotor blades for delaminationthat is, the separation of the layers of the blade materials.
In an interview Tuesday, Roth denied that he or his company had acted improperly. “We are grieving with this family, and never, under any circumstances, would we have done anything improper,” he declared. Roth expressed his belief that defective blades on the helicopter — which his company rented from another company — contributed to the accident. He acknowledged not having commissioned an independent investigation of the incident, claiming that he does not have the financial resources to pay for it. “This accident has devastated me financially,” Roth, 72, said.
New York Helicopter Charter had suffered another similar accident, although without victims, in 2013, when a helicopter operated by this company that was transporting four Swedish tourists made an emergency landing. Likewise, he had faced financial difficulties in the eight years prior to the incident, with various lawsuits for alleged debts. In January 2025, just three months before the Escobar-Camprubì family accident, they were sued for a sum of more than $1.4 million by a company that claimed not to be receiving payment for the rental of a helicopter.
Killed in the accident were Agustín Escobar, 49, global executive director of rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility; his wife, Mercè Camprubí, 39, also a senior executive of the company; and their children Mercè, Agustín and Víctor, aged 8, 10 and four, respectively. Little Mercè died one day before her ninth birthday, according to the lawsuit.
On the anniversary of the tragedy, relatives of the victims announced the creation of the Escobar Camprubí Foundation to honor the memory of their loved ones through solidarity actions. Their first charity gala was scheduled this Tuesday at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, to raise funds and launch their first school scholarship programs.
Earlier this month, coinciding with the anniversary of the event, a bipartisan group of congressmen introduced a bill aimed at tightening safety standards for helicopters. Defenders of the sector have argued that these flights turn the city into an attractive tourist destination and boost its economy and tax revenue, but residents complain about the constant overflight of the devices and the risk of accidents. At least 32 people have died in helicopter emergencies in New York since the late 1970s, according to Associated Press estimates.
