Overview
- The estates filed a wrongful-death case in Manhattan Supreme Court seeking compensatory and punitive damages from New York Helicopter Charter, New York Helicopter Tours, and CEO Michael Roth.
- The complaint says the Bell 206L-4 was not properly inspected, repaired, or equipped and that the operators showed willful disregard for passenger safety.
- Plaintiffs allege the FAA asked the company to pause flights after the crash, the director of operations agreed, Roth then told the agency the director had been let go, and the firm later surrendered its Air Carrier Certificate, the license to carry paying passengers.
- The NTSB has issued only a preliminary report from May 2025, and reporting notes the helicopter lacked onboard recorders and last logged 100- and 300-hour inspections on February 27.
- The family is pressing Congress to pass the Helicopter Safety Parity Act to require airline-level safety gear and stronger oversight, and they have launched the Fundación Escobar Camprubí to honor their relatives.