The Escobar family posed for pictures on a chilly helipad jutting into the waters off Manhattan, smiling in front of the helicopter that would soon take them on a sightseeing tour of the city’s famous skyline.
It was possibly the last picture the family of five took before they and the helicopter’s pilot were killed when the craft crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon.
The parents — Agustín Escobar and Mercè Camprubí Montal, both executives from Spain — had traveled to New York to celebrate Ms. Camprubí’s birthday with their three children, Agustín, 10, Mercè, 8, and Víctor, 4.
Before the crash, the tour company that operated the helicopter posted their pictures on its website: Mr. Escobar and Ms. Camprubí can be seen embracing their children, who are beaming in knit winter hats and warm coats. In one picture, a child can be seen riding in the front of the craft with the pilot, Seankese Johnson.
Relatives said that Friday would have been another family birthday: Mercè was supposed to turn 9.
Laura Anderson, a family friend, wrote in a tribute on Friday that Ms. Camprubí was “a dedicated and loving wife and mother” but also “so much more.”
“Mercè was a vibrant woman, always laughing, always contributing her energy and expertise and always reminding us that there was more to life than work (fashion, football, fun!),” she wrote.
Their deaths were mourned in Barcelona, a city where Spanish officials said the family had kept a home and enjoyed deep ties.
“They are a well-known family,” Salvador Illa, the governor of the Catalonia region, said in a telephone interview. “He was an executive at a large international company, and also she belonged to a well-known family. Two members of her family were presidents of the Barcelona Football Club.”
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter accident,” Mr. Illa said.
Mr. Escobar spent almost three decades working at Siemens, the technology giant, and most recently ran its rail infrastructure division from the company’s Berlin office, Siemens said.
Before that, he was the chief executive of Siemens Spain and worked for the company in the United States and Colombia, according to his LinkedIn profile. Siemens said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms. Camprubí was an executive with Siemens Energy, a separate company.
The helicopter was operated by a tour company, New York Helicopter, and was flying along a popular route showcasing the city’s skyline. Video of the crash showed the helicopter breaking apart in midair before tumbling through the sky and plunging into the Hudson River off Jersey City, N.J.
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said on Friday that an investigation into the crash was just beginning and that important parts of the helicopter wreckage — including the craft’s main rotor — remained missing beneath the river.
“Everything is on the table,” she said at a news conference. “We don’t rule anything out.”
Also on Friday, Steven Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, said that Mr. Escobar had arrived in the United States on Sunday to visit a Siemens plants in Pittsburgh, and that he had extended his trip so that his family could visit New York City.
Mr. Escobar’s brother-in-law was flying to the United States on Friday morning to bring the bodies of the family to Spain, Mr. Fulop said.
Mr. Escobar, 49, was born in Puertollano, a small city in central Spain, Emiliano García-Page, the region’s leader, said on social media. The area celebrated his achievements in 2023, naming him a “favorite son.”
On Friday morning, Mayor Miguel Ángel Ruiz of Puertollano said in a statement that the city “mourns the loss of one of its most brilliant sons.”
Mr. Escobar’s parents and sister still lived in Puertollano, and he visited them often, said Francisco Chicón, a retired banker who also hailed from the city.
Throughout Mr. Escobar’s business career, Mr. Chicón said, he continued to invest in his hometown. He helped the city develop a climate-friendly steel mill, which has been “the main investment and employment opportunity for the re-industrialization of Puertollano,” Mr. Chicón said.
In a 2023 interview with a local newspaper, Lanza, Mr. Escobar said he joined Siemens more than 25 years ago as an intern. Proud of his roots, Mr. Escobar compared the city’s residents to the character Don Quixote, who also hails from the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain.
“We’re entrepreneurs and travelers,” he said in the interview. “We have a vocation for knowledge and a restless, open mind that invites us to learn.”
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain described the crash as “an unimaginable tragedy.”
“I share the grief of the victims’ loved ones at this heartbreaking time,” Mr. Sánchez said on social media early Friday.
Carlos Prieto, a government official, told reporters in Spain that the family’s remains would be repatriated once a New York judge granted permission to Spanish officials.
Shayla Colon, John Yoon and Rachel Chaundler contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy and Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.
