A bird strike most likely caused the helicopter crash in the Hudson River that killed six people near New York City last year, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday.
The NTSB found bird remains in the wreckage of the Bell 206L-4 helicopter and the surrounding area.
A family of five from Spain, including three children, and the pilot died in the April 2025 crash.
According to the NTSB report, pieces of the helicopter’s main rotor blade and a severed bird wing were found on the ground and on rooftops about 2,000 feet away from where the wreckage was recovered.
A specialist from the Smithsonian Institution’s feather identification lab conducted sampling of the wreckageaccording to the report. Additional sampling was done by the NTSB’s lab to confirm the discovery of bird remains.
A witness told NTSB investigators that just before the accident she saw a large flock of geese take flight.
“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 said, according to the report.
Multiple witnesses told the investigators they heard loud bangs and pops coming from the helicopter before it broke apart midair and fell into the Hudson.
Surveillance video captured the helicopter suddenly breaking into three sections: the fuselage; the main rotor system that includes the two main rotor blades and the transmission; and the tail boom, which includes the tail rotor.