Pilot in deadly New York helicopter crash was from south suburban Matteson, Illinois
The pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, killing him and five passengers, was originally from the Chicago suburbs.
Sean Johnson, 36, was identified as the pilot of the aircraft that plunged into the river Thursday afternoon.
Johnson was born and raised in south suburban Matteson, and went to school in the south suburbs. Friends described Johnson as someone who truly enjoyed life and people. He also served in the Navy, where he lived out his dream of flying.
Those who loved him want to know what went wrong before the crash.
Johnson moved to the East Coast earlier this year to continue his dream and career of flying. Earlier this year, he posted a video on social media showing him flying a helicopter over New York City.
"He certainly had a passion for flying. You know, that's very, very clear by the post that we saw being made," said childhood friend Cosme Rios, who remembered him as a go-getter. "He was just full of life. He was a really good guy, good-spirited, friendly, you know, and he was the same way when he was a kid, too."
After high school, Johnson enlisted in the Navy. He did his initial training at Naval Station Great Lakes in Chicago's northern suburbs.
Johnson spent years flying aircraft. After his career in the military, he flew helicopter tours in Chicago. He recently moved to New York, and was flying a helicopter tour this week when it crashed into the Hudson River, killing him and a family of five he was flying.
The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to determine the cause of the crash.
Video posted to social media shows the craft apparently breaking apart completely while still in midair, with its rotors and tails separating from the fuselage. The helicopter crashed into the Hudson River upside down.
The NTSB said the agency will not speculate on the cause of the crash, which remains under investigation. No preliminary cause has been given.
The helicopter was operated by the tour company New York Helicopter.
Dive teams returned to the Hudson Rivero on Friday, trying to recover additional pieces of the sightseeing helicopter in effort to find a cause for the crash.
Recovery crews hoisted the chopper's fuselage from the river using a floating crane, and recovered the bodies of Johnson and his five passengers.
Those who knew the experienced pilot were thinking of the loved ones he left behind.
"We lost a good guy. The world lost somebody who made a difference," Rios said.
Johnson enlisted in the Navy in 2006, and served until November 2018, rising to the rank of gunner's mate 2nd class.
He underwent recruit training at Naval Station Great Lakes, and during his time in the Navy, he served at facilities in San Diego, and Pensacola, Florida. He also served aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, from April 2007 through October 2011.
He received multiple awards and decorations during his time with the navy, including two Navy "E" Ribbons, awarded for a unit's excellence in battle readiness; a Good Conduct Medal, a Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, A Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a Humanitarian Service Medal, and three Sea Service Deployment Ribbons.
He also qualified as an enlisted surface warfare specialist and enlisted aviation warfare specialist.
