Speaking to the Telegraph, he said: “He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive.”

Expressing his heartbreak, he said: “We’re all devastated. Every employee in our company is devastated. My wife has not stopped crying.

“The death of the child of any human being, is a monumental disaster.”

Despite his experience, the CEO of New York Helicopter Tours was at a loss for how such a tragic crash could have happened.

Speaking to the New York Post, he said: “The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter.”

Feeling helpless, he continued: “And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business.

“The only thing I could guess – I got no clue – is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don’t know.”

Four people were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were rescued from the water but sadly died later from their injuries in hospital.