One of the six victims who died in the tragic Hudson River helicopter crash on Thursday has a surprising link to one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world.
Agustín Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal and their three children died along with the pilot of the chopper as the Spanish family’s sightseeing tour of New York City went horribly wrong.
It has since emerged that Camprubi Montal is the relative of two former FC Barcelona presidents.
She was the great-granddaughter of Agusti Montal Galobart, who ran the Catalan giants from 1946 to 1952, and also the granddaughter of Agusti Montal Costa.
The latter was in charge at Barca from 1969 to 1977, and made his mark by bringing Johan Cruyff to the club and helping them win the league title for the 1973-74 season.
Spanish regional government officials said after the crash that the family resided in Barcelona.
Merce Camprubi Monta, her husband Agustin Escobar and their children died in the helicopter crash
Harrowing footage captured the moment the helicopter rotor blade flew off and splashed into the Hudson River after the deadly crash
It has emerged that Merce Camprubi Monta was related to two former Barcelona presidents
‘(I am) dismayed by the tragic helicopter accident in the Hudson River in New York which cost the lives of six people, five of which were members of a Barcelona family,’ Catalan regional president Salvador Illa wrote on X.
Another regional official said Escobar was originally from Puertollano, a town in central Spain.
He worked for the tech company Siemens for more than 27 years, most recently as global CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, according to his LinkedIn account. In late 2022 he briefly became president and CEO of Siemens Spain.
Camprubí Montal also worked for Siemens Energy for about seven years, including as global commercialization manager and as a digitalization manager, according to her LinkedIn account.
Their children were just four, eight and ten years old when their sightseeing chopper plummeted into the Hudson River at 3:15pm on Thursday.
Aviation experts said afterwards that, based on footage, the crash likely occurred because the main rotor blades separated from the aircraft and sliced the tail.
‘From the footage, it appears that the main rotor struck the body of the helicopter, cutting off the tail of the helicopter, which created an unrecoverable event,’ former military aviator and attorney Jim Brauchle of Motley Rice LLC told DailyMail.com.
Agusti Montal Costa, who ran Barcelona from 1969 to 1977, is seen in an undated photo
The family were in New York on vacation to celebrate one of their daughter’s birthday
Devastating photos show debris from the helicopter tour floating in the Hudson River including a girl’s shoe
Heartbreaking photos from just before the crash show the family smiling in the chopper
‘The two main causes of this phenomenon are mechanical failure or excessive maneuvering. Still, a full investigation is needed to understand why this tragedy occurred.
‘Having previously represented the families of tourists killed during a helicopter tour over the Hudson River, my heart goes out to the families at this catastrophic time.’
Michael Roth, 71, who owns New York Helicopter which provided the tour and the chopper, said the aircraft was running out of fuel before it crashed.
‘He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,’ Roth told The Telegraph.
Roth said he was devastated by the crash and agreed with other experts that the video appears to show the main rotor blades had broken off.
‘The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter,’ he told the New York Post.
Dramatic video showed the helicopter sinking into the water as emergency crews rushed to the scene.
Witnesses said they saw the chopper ‘split in half’ before it went down near Pier 40, with one man reporting the stricken aircraft making what sounded like a ‘sonic boom’
Emergency responders were seen late Thursday night pulling the remnants of the destroyed helicopter from the water of the Hudson River.
Witnesses said they saw the chopper ‘split in half’ before it went down near Pier 40, with one man reporting the stricken aircraft making what sounded like a ‘sonic boom.’
Read More
Awful new revelation about final moments of Spanish family killed in NYC helicopter crash
Other footage showed the chopper ‘flying erratically’ just before it fell into the water, while other clips showed pieces of the aircraft were seen flying off.
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, two of the victims were still alive when they were pulled out of the water, though it is unclear if they were conscious.
They later ‘succumbed to their injuries’ at the hospital,’ Tisch said.
Heartbreakingly, it also emerged after that the family was on vacation to celebrate the birthday of one of their young children.
According to Spanish outlet Antena3, one of their daughters would have turned nine years old on Friday.
