Latest news with #Carles
New York Times
13-04-2025
- New York Times
The Last Flight of Helicopter N216MH
Lionel Carles and his wife and young son arrived from Nice, France, on Wednesday with a list of things to see and do in New York City: St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock, Fifth Avenue. And, an exciting highlight — a helicopter tour of the skyline. Rafn Herlufsen, visiting from Iceland with his teenage son, made similar plans: a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, a helicopter tour later in the week. And Agustín Escobar, a Spanish executive with the technology giant Siemens, bought one of the longer flights offered by the tour company, New York Helicopter. Five tickets, for himself, his wife and their three children for a trip that would last 20 minutes and include a George Washington Bridge flyover. Each family arrived at their assigned time on Thursday at a helipad near the South Street Seaport for their flight with New York Helicopter. They listened to safety briefings and posed for photographs in front of the chopper they flew that day, tail number N216MH. By day's end, that helicopter would come apart in the sky and crash into the Hudson River, and one of those families would be killed, along with their pilot. The other two families would — stoically, awkwardly — tour the city, putting on happy faces while coming to grips with their own very, very close calls. An aerial tour along New York's famous skyline may be a visitor's once-in-a-lifetime thrill. But for a helicopter pilot, it is just another lap around a familiar track. Pilots had traced this path in this aircraft more than 1,600 times. The helicopter flown by those visiting families on Thursday was a Bell 206 LongRanger that had spent two years making short- and medium-haul flights all over Texas: Dallas to Lancaster, Austin to Denton, Denton to Wichita Falls. In November 2019, the helicopter arrived in New York City. Since then, it had logged over 2,600 hours in the air, most of it in segments of 10 or 15 minutes, hustling tourists up and down the Hudson River. The flights began or ended at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Lower Manhattan near the seaport. A standard trip took passengers around the heel of the island, over to the Statue of Liberty, up the Hudson for a few miles, then back. The helicopter made the circuit over and over, as often as 18 times a day, with as little as three minutes between flights — barely time for the next smiling group to pose for a photo. Around the bottom, over the statue, up the river and back; around, over, up, back. The members of the French family — Mr. Carles, 54; his wife, Alexandra, 46; and their son, César, 7 — were ready for takeoff. The helicopter rose, and they all laughed, exhilarated. They soared over New York and the minutes raced by. 'It's a wonderful experience,' said Mr. Carles, a lawyer. 'It's one of the attractions, for us, that stands out when you're in New York.' For the father and son from Iceland, the trip was a celebratory one. The 14-year-old had recently completed a confirmation ritual that is a milestone in their home country. They are both big basketball fans, and they had seats at a close game Tuesday night, the Celtics beating the Knicks 119 to 117 in overtime. They had 'a huge itinerary of New York things,' Mr. Herlufsen said. Thursday was the helicopter flight, Mr. Herlufsen's second with the touring company, and the boy's first. Beneath sunny skies, they soared over the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and One World Trade Center. 'I love the city,' Mr. Herlufsen said. It was almost 3 p.m. The Escobar family arrived at the helipad. They smiled broadly for the photos the company took — Mr. Escobar, Mercè Camprubí Montal and their three children — Agustín, 10, Mercè, 8, and Víctor, 4. They met their pilot, Seankese Johnson, 36, who had flown helicopters since August 2023. He had been working for New York Helicopter for only a few weeks. They took off toward Lady Liberty, then up the West Side of Manhattan. After flying over the majestic span of the George Washington Bridge, the pilot banked and headed downriver along the New Jersey side of the Hudson. It was 3:09 p.m. The helicopter held its altitude of 1,100 feet and was heading south at 90 miles per hour, according to a data log on the flight-tracking site FlightAware. Yankee Stadium came into view on the left, then Grant's Tomb. It was 3:11. The helicopter — hugging the shore above Edgewater, N.J., across the river from the top of Central Park — began its usual descent back to the heliport. Normally, the descent is gradual. This one was not. In 51 seconds, the craft lost more than 500 feet. It was 3:12. Off on the left, the residential Manhattan skyscrapers of West 57th Street, Billionaires' Row, were now higher than the helicopter. The chopper appears to have climbed at one point as Mr. Johnson struggled to regain control. It is unclear, until more details emerge, what was happening inside the craft at this point — what the pilot was relaying to the ground, whether the family was panicked, confused, terrified. Beneath the helicopter, the river loomed closer. Passers-by in Jersey City said they heard a loud bang, and turned to see black smoke pouring from an aircraft overhead. At 3:15, just off a pier in Jersey City's waterfront Newport neighborhood, the helicopter dropped like a stone from the sky, parts flying off, flipping over as it fell. It plunged into the river. The radios that pilots use to communicate with air control squawked out updates. 'Be advised, you do have an aircraft down, Holland Tunnel,' an air controller said with brisk urgency. 'Please keep your eyes open for anybody in the water.' It had been less than 30 minutes since the family smiled for the camera. No one survived. Their pilot, Mr. Johnson, a U.S. Navy veteran, was also killed. Somewhere else in Manhattan, Mr. Carles, the French lawyer, got a text from a co-worker. 'Did you know about this crash?' He pulled up a news story, setting off a cascade of recognition. This happened right after we left. This was the same company we used. And then, squinting at pictures of the Escobar family posing in front of the machine and comparing them with their own photos. This was the same helicopter. 'There's no doubt about it,' Mr. Carles said. The group forged ahead with the vacation — a basketball game, a visit to the 9/11 Memorial. They didn't speak about the helicopter, even as happy photos from the trip — a son smiling beside the pilot — were saved in their phones. 'We drop the subject,' Mr. Carles said. 'We talk about something PG. We continue our vacation. We are very happy to be safe and sound, and we move on.' Hours after Mr. Herlufsen left the helipad with his son, his phone blew up. He too realized they'd been in the same flying machine. His son had been especially shaken by the ordeal. 'This is such a brush with mortality, difficult to parse at 14,' Mr. Herlufsen said. But the boy's father hoped to end their trip on a positive note. 'We have one more day left of our New York stay,' he said on Thursday, 'and I'm really trying not to have this overwhelm our 'once-in-a-lifetime' adventure trip.' The extended members of Mr. Escobar's and Ms. Camprubí's families sought words of comfort after the massive loss. 'They have passed away together, leaving an indelible mark on all their relatives, friends and acquaintances,' the families said in a statement. For those relatives, the week ended with an unthinkable task, flying to New York, to return the five bodies to Spain.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
Lima Rotary learns about utility-related scams
Mar. 10—LIMA — With online scams becoming increasingly prevalent and difficult to spot, people must always be vigilant in watching for them, Lima Rotary members learned Monday. During its regular weekly meeting Monday at Lima's Veterans Memorial Civic Center, the Lima Rotary Club was informed about nearly 10 common utility-related scams currently emerging and what actions to take if they become victims. Similar to scams that trick people into paying unpaid tolls or sending a link verifying an address for a package, scams are also prevalent with utilities. "Because it is a trusted entity for you," said Amy Carles, senior outreach & education program specialist for the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel. "And you don't want to lose them. So that's one of the things they can use to kind of scare you into thinking, oh my goodness, I don't want something to happen to my utilities." One of the biggest scams the OCC comes across is the emergency payment scam, which makes people think they will be disconnected if they don't immediately pay. "Whether someone shows up and knocks on your door, they could also call you on the phone, send you an email, send you a text, lots of ways this can happen," Carles said. "They tend to look for times when you would panic a little bit more, and we are in one of those time periods." The issue with this particular scam is that the scammer will call after hours. "Because you can't call and check it out," Carles said, explaining the late calls. "Most people do not know that it is illegal for investor-owned utilities to disconnect you after hours." Scammers will also ask to be paid in a variety of ways. "Now they may ask for account information, credit card information, some of that normal stuff that you would do," Carles said. "They are also, a lot of times, asking for peer-to-peer, so CashApp, Venmo, Zelle, all of those. They also really like debit cards, they also really love gift cards, and cryptocurrency, because once they're gone, you can't get the money back." Other scams to OCC encourages the public to watch for are utility worker imposters, false refunds or discounts, caller ID spoofing, door-to-door, and solar scams. If fraud is suspected, contact local law enforcement or the Attorney General's Office at 1-800-282-0515. Direct questions and complaints about utility services, including scams, can be made on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's website, or by calling 1-800-686-7826. Established in 1976, the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel serves as Ohio's advocate for residential utility consumers. "We are your voice; we represent you legally," said Carles. Based out of Findlay, Carles covers over 30 counties. Reach Cade Higgins at 567-242-0351. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Barcelona players, Real Madrid lead tributes to Carles Miñarro García
On Saturday, Spanish football was rocked by the news that Barcelona doctor Carles Minarro Garcia had passed away hours before the match against Osasuna, which was postponed, at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Minarro, who was 40, was a much-loved figure at Barcelona, and that has been reflected in the tributes that have been paid in the hours after his death was confirmed. Difícil de creer y aceptar todo lo que ha pasado… Carles, muchas gracias por todo lo que me has ayudado, no solo este año, sino, a lo largo de toda mi carrera. Se te echará mucho de menos, y tu persona será siempre recordada en nuestros corazones, y en el de mi Doc — Dani Olmo (@daniolmo7) March 8, 2025 Dani Olmo was one of the first to pay tribute to Minarro Garcia, as he penned a heartfelt message on X. 'It's hard to believe and accept everything that has happened… Carles, thank you very much for everything you have helped me with, not only this year, but throughout my entire career. You will be greatly missed, and you will always be remembered in our hearts, and in the hearts of my family. RIP Doc.' Gavi, who was recently treated by Minarro Garcia after suffering a head knock in the victory over Alaves, was another to pay tribute to the doctor, as per MD. 'DEP, Doqui. Always in our hearts, we will miss you very much.' Another player that was notably treated by Minarro Garcia was Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who suffered a serious knee injury against Villarreal last September. The German goalkeeper also paid tribute. 'I am at a loss for words… I send all my strength and support to your family and friends. Rest in peace. We will miss you very much and we will always carry you in our hearts, Carles.' Of the clubs that paid their condolences to Barcelona and Minarro Garcia's family were Real Madrid, who released a statement on Saturday night. 'Real Madrid, its president and its Board of Directors deeply regret the death of the doctor of FC Barcelona, Carles Miñarro García. Real Madrid would like to express its condolences and affection to all his family, his teammates, FC Barcelona and all his loved ones. Rest in peace.'
