August 8, 2009

Helicopter, small aircraft collide over Hudson River

“Emergency personnel are on scene of a helicopter and a small aircraft collision in the vicinity of West 14th Street and the Hudson River,” NYC’s official Notify NYC states in a 12:29 p.m. advisory.

At least one person was “removed from the water,” apparently deceased, a fire department official told the New York Times.

Five tourists and a pilot were on the helicopter, according to the Daily News report.

“I was actually watching the white plane as it was heading south. It was around 50 feet above the helicopter and he was banking heading toward Manhattan. He banked quite hard and the wing actually snapped off and caused the plane to then drop and it hit back rotor of the helicopter, snapping that off,” a witness identified as “Nick” told NY1 by phone.

Citing unnamed sources, the Post states the plane was coming from Teteboro Airport and had only the pilot on board. The paper also states both aircraft are submerged but divers have already recovered one black box. (Update: The NTSB chairman later said it’s unlikely there will be black boxes as they’re not required for aircraft of this size.)

At least one person was rescued by the New York City Fire Department, according to a statement from the US Coast Guard. (This turned out to be untrue; see updates below. There were no survivors.)

Update as of 1:50 p.m: The facts of the crash are changing rapidly. Currently there are no confirmed reports of survivors, but one person is confirmed dead. Most news outlets have identified Liberty Helicopter as the operator of the tourist aircraft involved in the crash. NY1 also reports the helicopter was a AS350 Eurocopter; the plane was a Piper PA32. Mayor Michael Bloomberg will provide a briefing shortly.

Update at 3:15 p.m.: “At this point we have found two bodies,” Mayor Bloomberg said during his 3 p.m. news conference. “We’re not sure where one of them came from. The other we’re reasonably sure came from the helicopter. We found some wreckage. We believe that it is the helicopter but the visibility is about two feet at a depth of 30 feet on the Jersey side of the river, opposite roughly 14th Street where the wreckage was located. We have not found the second piece of wreckage. We’re assuming we have the helicopter, but we cannot for sure say that.” There are bodies in that wreckage, he said.

Bloomberg said there were five Italian tourists plus the pilot on the helicopter. He said it appears the plane, a Piper Saratoga, was carrying a pilot and two passengers, including a child.

“There were a number of eye-witnesses who saw the crash,” Bloomberg said. “It would appear that the airplane ran into the back side of the helicopter, but keep in mind with all of these things: No. 1, until the National Transportation Safety Board makes a determination, nothing is a fact.”

The plane had taken off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey; the helicopter had taken off from the 30th Street heliport in Manhattan, he said.

“Sadly, there is not a lot of rescue to do here. It’s all recovery from this point on,” Bloomberg said.

Update at 9 p.m.: Three victims have thus far been removed from the Hudson River, NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman said during a news conference held at 8:35 p.m. in Hoboken. She confirmed the wreckage found earlier in the day is indeed the helicopter and it will likely be removed from the river Sunday if possible. The plane’s wreckage has not yet been located.

Hersman also said one witness, another helicopter pilot at the 30th Street heliport, actually radioed a warning seconds before the crash, starting with the helicopter’s tail number. “ILH, you have a fixed wing behind you,” he said, but received no reply.

Divers will resume the search at 7 a.m., Hersman said.

Related: Webcam of the recovery effort.

Picture: File photo taken in June 2009 at the 30th Street heliport for Liberty Helicopter. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.

Earlier:
US Airways plane crashes in Hudson River near Intrepid
NTSB cited human error in both ‘05 helicopter crashes
Another incident for Liberty ‘no comment’ Helicopter
Liberty Helicopter silent after Hudson River crash (2007)

August 8, 2009 12:37 PM in Arrivology, Downtown, Midtown

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