NY helicopter tour CEO says pilot was flying back to base to refuel before crash in Hudson River that killed tech exec and family

The owner of the NYC helicopter tour company claimed the doomed chopper was en route back to base to refuel before crashing into the Hudson River, killing all six onboard including a family of five.New York Helicopter Tour CEO Michael Roth says the pilot of the aircraft had radioed about needing more fuel minutes before the tourist chopper plunged into the murky water on Thursday.“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.The five passengers have been identified as a family from Spain visiting the Big Apple on vacation.Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children were killed along with an unidentified pilot.Escobar is the Global CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility while his wife worked as a global commercialization manager for energy technology company Siemens Energy.Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene and two more were declared dead at the hospital, officials said.Gut-wrenching photos on the New York Helicopter Tours website show Escobar, Montal and their children smiling in front of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV helicopter and strapped inside the aircraft.Roth said he learned about the tragedy from one of his workers at the company’s downtown heliport, who had heard about a crash, not knowing it was their helicopter.“Then one of my pilots flew over the Hudson and saw the helicopter upside down,” he told the outlet.Roth revealed to The Post earlier he was “absolutely devastated” by the deadly incident that killed all six people, including three children, on board. “It’s devastation,” he said.“I’m a father and a grandfather and to have children on there, I’m devastated.

I’m absolutely devastated.”Roth didn’t provide any cause of the crash, only giving his perspective from what he saw in footage of the midday catastrophe.“T...