NEW YORK — The CEO of rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility and his family were among those killed in last week’s crash of a sightseeing helicopter, according to media reports.
Agustin Escobar, his wife, their three children, and the helicopter’s pilot were killed in the April 10 crash of the helicopter into the Hudson River about 3:17 p.m. His wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, was an executive with Siemens Energy, Forbes reports. Their children were ages 10, 8, and 4.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend, Agustin Escobar, and his beloved family,” Roland Busch, CEO of parent company Siemens AG, said in a statement on social media. “… Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Agustin’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. We will miss him and his family immensely.”
Escobar, 49, was born in Puertollano, Spain. According to broadcaster NDTV, he had previously headed Siemens divisions in Spain, and from 2019 to 2024 was CEO of Siemens Mobility’s Southwest Europe Region, including Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, and parts of Africa. Earlier in his career, he had been based in New York to handle business development in North America.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the crash “an unimaginable tragedy.”
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, said in an April 12 update that recovery of the wreckage of the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter is continuing. The helicopter was not equipped with flight recorders or any other onboard equipment recording data that could help in the investigation; no onboard video or camera recorders have been recovered.
A tragic lesson in why to not ever fly in an “excursion” aircraft, and particularly a helo. Most of them are seat-of-the pants operations, poorly maintained, very risky.
The helicopter firm is now closed. They were reported to have had a history of poor maintenance, failed inspections and licensing issues with the city for the last few years.
I suspect the NTSB will find some cause and effect in their report.
How directly did he work with Amtrak? Any problems that will cause now?