A fist-sized piece of metal often known as the “Jesus nut” may very well be a vital piece of proof within the horrific helicopter crash that killed a Spanish household of 5 and their pilot in Manhattan earlier this week.
The so-called “Jesus nut” holds the principle rotor to the mast of some helicopters — and a few consultants have speculated that it might have been why the chopper broke aside midair.
“What seems to have occurred with this specific helicopter is that the rotor, the principle rotor… had indifferent, as a result of in a single video we see the blades spinning away from the helicopter,” aviation analyst Julian Bray advised The Solar.
“However this seems to have sliced by way of the again half of the helicopter, so the fuselage then drops like a stone into the river Hudson proper reverse Pier 41.”
Bray additionally mentioned that it’s commonplace process to often test the “Jesus nut.”
“There’s a specific process which needs to be checked each time it’s serviced, and it’s often known as the ‘Jesus bolt’ … as a result of with out that the entire thing will disintegrate,” he mentioned.
“It’s both faulty or wasn’t tightened up, or for some motive it sheared.”
The chopper’s rotors are nonetheless lacking, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board mentioned at a press convention Friday.
The time period “Jesus nut” was probably coined through the Vietnam Warfare — referring to the truth that if it occurred to detach, the one factor the crew might do was pray to Jesus, in line with Expertise.org.
The tragic crash on Thursday afternoon took the lives of the pilot, Navy veteran Sean Johnson, 36, and a household of vacationers — Agustín Escobar, 49, his spouse, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three youngsters — Augustin, 10, Mercedes, 8, and Victor, 4 — in tow.
Mercedes would’ve celebrated her ninth birthday on the Large Apple journey.
The household launched into the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV sightseeing chopper, which broke aside in midair and plunged into the Hudson River 25 minutes into its tour of Manhattan.
The plane had a mechanical subject with its transmission final September, in line with Federal Aviation Administration information. By then, it had logged 12,728 hours of flight time.
The Escobar household’s family members posted a heartfelt be aware on X on Friday to honor them.
“There aren’t any phrases to explain what we’re experiencing, nor to thanks for the heat obtained,” mentioned the letter, posted on X by Joan Camprubí Montal, and signed by 19 members of the Escobar and Camprubí Montal households.
“These are very troublesome occasions, however optimism and pleasure have at all times characterised our household. We need to protect the reminiscence of a contented and united household, within the sweetest second of their lives.”
