The recent helicopter crash into the Hudson River might boil down to a single part failing, an aviation expert said.
On Thursday, a Bell 206 helicopter crashed shortly after departing on a sightseeing tour from Manhattan, New York.
Footage showed the damaged aircraft plummeting into the Hudson, killing all of the occupants, including Spanish business executive Agustín Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children.
The pilot, Navy SEAL veteran Sean Johnson, also died in the crash, according to People.
WARNING: The following social media posts contain images of an air disaster and may be disturbing to some viewers.
Hudson River Helicopter crash @fox5ny @ABC7 @NBCNewYork @CBSNewYork @njdotcom @News12NJ @CNN @cnnbrk
Credit: Bruce Wall pic.twitter.com/CVy249wApx
— SangriaUltra (@xpertcommander) April 10, 2025
Julian Bray, a major incident consultant and aviation expert broadcaster, told The U.S. Sun what he thinks caused the crash.
“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,” Bray said.
“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,” he said.
Bray thinks the detachment likely happened because a single part failed.
“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,” Bray said. “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.”
🇺🇸”JESUS NUT” FAILURE MAY HAVE CAUSED DEADLY NYC HELICOPTER CRASH
Aviation experts say a failed “Jesus nut” – the single bolt holding a helicopter’s main rotor in place – may have triggered the Hudson River disaster that killed Siemens exec Agustín Escobar, his wife, and 3 young… https://t.co/QS4JPbFJg0 pic.twitter.com/zJeflw8zwQ
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 12, 2025
The Jesus nut is the bolt at the top of a helicopter shaft that holds it all together. It got its name because if it were to fail in flight, the only thing left to do would be to pray to Jesus.#MythAndFact pic.twitter.com/TkWebXn7ph
— THE G•O•A•T (@OfficialUdiBoy) December 9, 2020
The main rotor retaining nut, sometimes called the “Jesus nut,” is the fist-sized part holding the helicopter blade to the mast, according to Technology.org.
The term likely originated in the Vietnam War, when a solder reportedly asked a mechanic what would happen if the nut fell off during flight.
“Pray to Jesus,” the mechanic supposedly answered.
According to NewJersey.com, Vietnam War pilots have referenced the nut in books.
For instance, Robert Mason wrote about it in his book “Chickenhawk.”
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