“Living the dream.”

That was how Seankese Johnson, 36, described his new career as a New York City commercial helicopter pilot, flying sightseeing tours around Manhattan.

The phrase was the headline atop his LinkedIn page on Friday, even as news spread among loved ones that he was the pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon, killing him and a family of five tourists from Spain.

His father, Louis Johnson, said on Friday that his son had moved to New York just this year for “a new chapter in his life.”

Mr. Johnson had recently begun flying chopper tours after obtaining his commercial license in 2023 and gaining experience flying heavier-duty helicopters.

He flew them on fire rescue missions in California and on agricultural projects in Virginia among other stints, according to his résumé and his loved ones.

More recently Mr. Johnson, a U.S. Navy veteran, began to combine a convivial personality with his love of aviation, taking a job flying sightseeing tours in his native Chicago beginning last fall.