The series of still photographs taken from surveillance camera video shows the fuselage, containing the engine and rotors, separating from the helicopter’s tail. The rotor blades and the transmission then detach from the cabin that’s carrying the passengers and the pilot.

The Bell 206 chopper, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, departed at 2:58 p.m. ET from a downtown helicopter pad and flew north over the Hudson River before crashing about 17

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board did not provide an explanation for the crash, which left six people dead.