Pilot in deadly NYC helicopter crash was Southern Utah graduate

The pilot of the tourist helicopter that crashed in the waters off Manhattan last week, killing all six aboard, was a graduate of Southern Utah University.A Southern Utah spokesperson said 36-year-old Seankese "Sean" Johnson graduated with a commercial helicopter pilot license from the Cedar City school in 2023.Before attending and graduating from SUU, Johnson grew up in Chicago and was a technician with the Navy Seals. He later repaired helicopters aboard the USS Ronald Reagan and was part of naval operations rendering aid in Japan after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.After flying tourist helicopters in Chicago, Johnson moved to New York City two weeks before Thursday's accident in which he was flying a family of five on a sightseeing tour before the helicopter broke apart and fell into the Hudson River.Agustin Escobar, an executive of Siemens, a German technology company, along with his wife and their three children aged 4, 5 and 11 years old, were identified as the others killed.New York Helicopter Tours, the company that employed Johnson, announced Sunday it was closing down immediately, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, who had ordered an emergency grounding of its aircraft on Monday.Aviation expert questions maintenance practices after helicopter tragedy:The National Transportation Safety Board said its investigation into the accident remains in its early stages, and it is still too early to determine what caused the crash. Videos posted online appear to show the helicopter breaking apart and inverting before crashing into the river.