Hudson helicopter crash pilot was Navy SEALs veteran, 36,

The pilot of a helicopter which crashed into New York City's Hudson river killing him and a family of five on board has been identified as a Navy SEAL veteran.

Sean Johnson, 36, was formerly a gunner's mate responsible for fixing equipment, Gothamist reports.

He also previously worked as a celebrity bodyguard and had a stint working in TV. 

Johnson had recently moved to the city to begin his commercial aviation career, his wife said. 

 'I'm just at loss for words. I don't even know what happened,' Johnson's widow, Kathryn Johnson, told the outlet.

Her husband was flying the chopper when it plunged into the waters yesterday with a family of tourists aboard.

Agustín Escobar, the president of the Spanish branch of the technology company Siemens, and his wife and three children died in the crash, the New York Times reported. 

Johnson studied commercial piloting at Southern Utah University and also attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide, according to his Facebook profile.

The Chicago, Illinois native also listed previous employment as a former UH-60 Co-pilot at Heli-1 Corporation. 

He shared a video from the cockpit of a flight above Manhattan just weeks before the disaster. 

Johnson's former Navy colleagues were among those paying tribute to him on Friday. 

'Sean came from very humble beginnings — but he never let that define or limit him. If anything, it fueled him,' friend Remi Adeleke posted online

'He had a quiet determination, a spirit of resilience and a heart that always looked out for others.'

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration is currently probing the cause of the horror crash which took place at around 3:15pm. 

Calls to emergency services were received at approximately 3:17pm, just 17 minutes after it took off from downtown Manhattan.

Michael Roth, 71, who owns New York Helicopter which provided the tour and the chopper, said that the aircraft needed fuel.

'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,' Roth told The Telegraph.

Roth said that he started to get a ton of phone messages before one of his other pilots flew over the Hudson 'and saw the helicopter upside down.'

'We're all devastated. Every employee in our company is devastated. My wife has not stopped crying.

Witnesses said they saw the chopper 'split in half' before it went down near Pier 40, with one man reporting the stricken aircraft making what sounded like a 'sonic boom.'

The N216MH aircraft was a Bell 206L-4, according to Flight Radar.

The helicopter flew for approximately 16 minutes before going down into the water. 

It took off from the Wall Street Heliport and did a circle near the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge at about 1000 feet.

Dramatic video showed the helicopter sinking into the water as emergency crews rushed to the scene.

Four people were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others were taken to the hospital, where they 'succumbed to their injuries,' NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

This a breaking news story, please check back for updates...