Happening Now
Siemens Rail Infrastructure CEO In Helo Crash
April 18, 2025
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.
"It is an honor to be recognized by the Rail Passengers Association for my efforts to strengthen and expand America’s passenger rail. Golden spikes were once used by railroads to mark the completion of important rail projects, so I am truly grateful to receive the Golden Spike Award as a way to mark the end of a career that I’ve spent fighting to invest in our country’s rail system. As Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, it has been my priority to bolster funding for Amtrak, increase and expand routes, look to the future by supporting high-speed projects, and improve safety, culminating in $66 billion in new funding in the Bipartisan infrastructure Law."
Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
March 30, 2022, on receiving the Association's Golden Spike Award for his years of dedication and commitment to passenger rail.
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