An investigation has started into a sightseeing helicopter that crashed in the Hudson River on Thursday.

All six people aboard were killed, including a family of five from Spain and the pilot, a 36-year-old U.S. Navy veteran.

The National Transportation Safety Board has 17 investigators in Jersey City.

Twenty-four hours into its investigation, the NTSB will not speculate on a cause of this helicopter crash.

But officials did offer insight into the important collection of evidence taking place right now.

Divers with the NYPD are in the Hudson River about 75 feet off the shoreline of Jersey City.

The NTSB says those divers are looking for vital parts of the helicopter. Specifically, they want to find the main rotor, the tail rotor, as well as part of the transmission and the roof structure.

Video from a witness shows the main fuselage plunging into the river while the rotor and tail are seen at high altitude flying off in the opposite direction.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy spoke about the start of the agency's investigation.

She spoke about a wreckage team examining components already recovered and about the pilot, who has been identified as 36-year-old Seankese Johnson.

“Most of their focus was to turn it upright and move the helicopter inside. As of March 29, 2025 the pilot accumulated about 788 hours of total flight time. We still need to calculate flight time in that Bell helicopter, Homendy said.

The NTSB is asking the public for photos or videos of the crash. They can be sent to Witness@NTSB.gov.

Just before takeoff, Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three children — Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10 — smiled in front of the helicopter in souvenir photos posted to the tour operator's website.

Escobar, a 49-year-old executive with the German conglomerate Siemens, had extended a business trip to the U.S. to sightsee in New York City and celebrate two family milestones: Mercedes' 9th birthday, which would have been Friday, and his wife's upcoming 40th birthday. Montal was an executive at Siemens Energy, a company that had been a part of the conglomerate before being spun off as a separate entity.

The pilot, Seankese Johnson, received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, and had logged about 800 hours of flight time as of March, Homendy said. Recently, he posted a photo on Facebook of him piloting a helicopter with Manhattan in the background. In 2023, he posted that he was flying a firefighting helicopter.

“Long hours and painstaking work to get to this moment. Thank you for all the love and support from those who’ve helped me get here,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson transitioned to aviation after a career in the Navy.

He enlisted in 2006 and served until 2018, achieving the rank of Gunner's Mate 2nd Class, Defense Department records show. He was stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan from 2007 to 2011 and in San Diego from 2011 to 2018, serving in the Special Warfare Unit, the Special Warfare Logistics Support Unit and the Coastal Riverine Squadron.

In a statement posted on the social platform X Friday night by Montal's brother, Joan Camprubí Montal, family members expressed gratitude for the “massive expressions of condolences and support,” adding, “There are no words to describe what we are experiencing, nor to thank the warmth received.”

Writing in Spanish and in Catalan, Montal said family members had traveled to New York to handle arrangements and asked people to respect their privacy.

“These are very difficult times, but optimism and joy have always characterized our family. We want to keep the memory of a happy and united family, in the sweetest moment of their lives,” he said. “They have departed together, leaving an indelible mark among all their relatives, friends, and acquaintances."