Hudson River helicopter crash: 'Jesus nut' may have triggered New York disaster that killed six

A crucial aircraft component known as the "Jesus nut" may have been missing or faulty during the Hudson River helicopter crash that killed six people, an expert has warned.

Horrifying footage captured the moment the chopper "fell apart" mid-air before a loud boom echoed around New York City's Pier 40 and the aircraft plunged into the river, landing upside down. Agustín Escobar, the former President of Siemens Spain, his wife Merce Camprubí Montal and their three children aged four, five and 11 were declared dead shortly after the Bell 206 aircraft careered into the Hudson River. Aviation analyst Julian Bray has warned that the chopper's Jesus nut - a crucial component that secures the rotor blades to the mast - may have failed mid-flight, sparking the horror crash.

The expert said this may have caused the helicopter's blades to detach while still still spinning mid-air and possibly slicing through the aircraft before it plummeted into the water.

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Mr Bray said: “What appears to have happened with this particular helicopter is that the rotor, the main rotor… had detached, because in one video we see the blades spinning away from the helicopter.

"But this appears to have sliced through the back half of the helicopter, so the fuselage then drops like a stone into the river Hudson right opposite Pier 41.”

“There is a particular procedure which has to be checked every time it’s serviced, and it’s known as the Jesus Bolt… because without that the whole thing will fall apart,” he told The Sun.

“It looks as though it’s [the] Jesus bolt or Jesus PIN.

“It’s either defective or wasn’t tightened up, or for some reason it sheared.”

Catalan radio station RAC1 reported today that the family had booked the helicopter ride to celebrate one of the children's birthdays.

It said: “They had hired a helicopter ride to the Statue of Liberty because it was one of the children's birthdays.”

The pilot was the sixth person confirmed dead in the tragedy.

The crash today is the latest in a long list of helicopter disasters in New York City.

At least 32 people have died in helicopter crashes in city since 1977 and the latest seeing five members of a Spanish family dying along with a pilot.

In 2018, five of the six occupants of a helicopter that had taken off from New Jersey died and fell into the icy waters of the East River, Manhattan's other river.