According to Horbiak, the aircraft splashed “in several pieces into the river,” a moment that left her shaken. Along the river in Hoboken, Lesly Camacho, a hostess working at a restaurant, also witnessed the horrifying event.

She described the helicopter as spinning wildly with “a bunch of smoke coming out” before it crashed violently into the water.

Mandy Bowlin, a tourist from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was aboard a Circle Line sightseeing boat when her peaceful excursion took a terrifying turn. She described hearing a sudden boom behind her, prompting her to turn and witness a helicopter plummeting toward the water.

One of its rotor blades detached midair, and