Siemens Rail Infrastructure CEO In Helo Crash

By Jim Mathews / President & CEO

Since publication of our Hotline update last week, we learned that among the victims of last week’s fatal sightseeing helicopter crash into the Hudson River near Jersey City was Augustin Escobar, CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility.

Escobar had brought his entire family with him on this sightseeing trip, and all of them died in the wreck – his wife, Merce, and three young children.

Roland Busch, the CEO of Mobility’s corporate parent, Siemens AG, issued a statement a few days ago expressing deep sadness from “the loss of our colleague and friend, Agustin Escobar, and his beloved family.”

Busch said “this tragedy is hard for all of us to comprehend and put into words.”

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, led by NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, were on-scene quickly following the wreck, and earlier this week the rotor was recovered from the Hudson.

NTSB has previously issued safety recommendations about tighter regulation of air-tour operators, although there’s no evidence or suggestion that this operator – New York Helicopter Charter, Inc. – was in violation of any regulations or safety procedures.

The accident helicopter’s last major inspection was on March 1. Before the crash, the helicopter had completed seven tour flights. The accident occurred during the eighth flight of the day.