August 9, 2009
Helicopter, 7 bodies recovered from Hudson River
Seven of the nine victims of Saturdays crash have been recovered from the Hudson River, along with most of the Liberty Helicopter but the Piper Lance remains submerged, NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman said during a news conference late this afternoon.
“It’s too early in the investigation for us to identify a cause at this point. We’re still at the early fact-gathering stages,” she said.
Officials declined to identify any of the pilots or passengers by name but the New York Times and other outlets names them. Tiziana Pedrone, Fabio Gallazzi, Giacomo Gallazzi, Michele Norelli and Filippo Norelli were the Italian tourists on the helicopter flown by Jeremy Clark. Steven M. Altman was the pilot of the plane; he was accompanied by his brother Daniel Altman and nephew Doug Altman.
The small Piper aircraft started its day in Wingsfield, Penn., at 7:14 a.m. and arrived at New Jersey’s Teterboro to pick up a passenger. After a 30-minute layover, the Piper was cleared for takeoff at 11:49 a.m., headed for to Ocean City, N.J., according to the narrative Hersman provided at the briefing.
The Teterboro control tower instructed the pilot to make a left turn and fly at or below 1,100 feet. At 11:52 a.m., Teterboro handed off the flight to the Newark control tower and told the pilot to contact Newark and change frequency. When Newark didn’t hear from the pilot, it contacted Teterboro, which again attempted to contact the pilot.
The last radar contact with the plane was at 1,100 feet at 11:53 a.m., Hersman said.
The helicopter had just departed the W. 30th Street heliport for a 12-minute Big Apple Tour , priced at $180 per person (which includes a $30 security/facility fee.) The helicopter had emergency floats, which must be deployed manually. (Hersman did not say if the floats had been deployed.)
The helicopter sustained significant damage and was located in murky water about 30 feet deep, Hersman said. Most of the helicopter has been recovered and has been taken to a pier, she said. The recovery effort is now focused on the plane, which sonar may have located nearby.
At a separate press conference earlier in the day, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg emphasized the need to be respectful but also ensure the safety of the divers as the currents are strong and dangerous. “”The most important thing is that we do it safely,” Bloomberg said.
Following Saturday’s mid-air collision, flight restrictions were put in place with a 3-mile radius around the crash scene and 2,000 feet up. Today, that was reduced to a 1-mile radius and 1,000 feet up, Hersman said.
In response to a reporter’s question, Hersman said the National Transportation Safety Board has eight accidents and one incident on file involving Liberty Helicopter. She noted the first was in 1995; the July 7, 2007 plunge into the Hudson remains under investigation; and in 2008 there were two accidents and one less serious “incident” for Liberty.
All of the NTSB accident reports are available online, including the March 22, 2008 accident (in pdf) when the the tail skid of a departing Liberty Helicopter hit the turning main rotor of another Liberty helicopter parked at the W. 30th Street heliport. There were no injuries.
Picture credit: The blue helicopter is the one involved in the crash. It was taken for a 2005 NewYorkology story about a flight on Liberty Helicopter. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
Earlier: Helicopter, small aircraft collide over Hudson River
August 9, 2009 5:39 PM in Arrivology
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