Deadly helicopter crash in Hudson River sees old video resurface
Clip actually dates back to June 2019 when another helicopter crash took place
CLAIM
A video showing a helicopter flying erratically over a river in New York claims to capture the moments before a fatal helicopter crash into the Hudson River on April 10, 2025.
BACKGROUND
On April 10, a tour helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York, killing everyone onboard.
The helicopter was carrying a family of five on holiday from Spain, as well as the pilot. While the identities of those onboard was not officially confirmed so far, the family are widely reported to have been Siemens executive Agustín Escobar and his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, along with their three children. Siemens has issued a statement expressing condolences.
A number of videos circulating on social media capture the crash, including one video that shows the moment the helicopter falls out of the sky and splashes into the water.
Amid the sharing of images and footage from the crash was a video that showed a helicopter flying erratically over the Hudson River in New York.
METHOD
The earliest X account (@ScummyMummy511) we found that was sharing this footage publishes mainly memes. It also shared other videos of the crash, which are verifiably from other sources. There is no evidence of the account sharing original content in recent times. It is categorised on X as a parody account.
A closer look at the footage raises first questions when comparing it to other videos of the crash on April 10. The footage shows foggy conditions, whereas other videos shot on the day of the crash only showed an overcast sky.
A TinEye search using a screengrab from the video returned results of news reports dating back to 2019.
A New York Post report from June 10, 2019 about a deadly helicopter crash in Midtown Manhattan features a longer version of this video and mentions the person who shot it by their Instagram handle (@thingswendysees). This allowed the original version of the video to be located with the owner, a New York resident, writing: “Crazy helicopter on the east river.”
The X account mentioned above that published the video also later posted a correction, acknowledging that the video was not of recent events after it was highlighted through Community Notes.
RATING
The video showing a helicopter flying erratically that was shared on April 10 dates back to June 2019 and shows events before another crash. It was shot in New York but on the East River and not the Hudson River.
SOURCES
Instagram (2025). Available at: @thingswendysees [Accessed 10 April 2025].
Perez, C. (2019). Video appears to show helicopter flying erratically before Midtown crash. [online] New York Post. Available at: [Accessed 11 Apr. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: @scummymummy511 [Accessed 11 April 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: @scummymummy511 [Accessed 11 April 2025].