Helicopter crashes in the Hudson - after collision with small plane

[stray cat]

Source: MSNBC online

anyone hearing anything more?

No link yet.

[cal04]

1. CBS

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/08/national/main...

Updated

A helicopter went down in the Hudson River Saturday.

The aircraft entered the water near 14th Street. The Fire Department responded to the scene.

Initial reports say the helicopter collided with a small plane.

At least one person has died. The FDNY was removing survivors to area hospitals.

Stay with WCBSTV.com for more as it becomes available.

[stray cat]

2. Thanks - I'm taking a break at work - so limited coverage

[smokey nj]

3. I'm about to go see some clients in Hoboken and Jersey City, if

I see anything from there, I'll make a report.

[cal04]

4. thanks smokey nj

watching on CBS video but they're not talking
just showing the boats in the water


just updated
At least one person has died and six others have been rescued Saturday after a sightseeing helicopter and a small airplane collided in midair just before noon over the Hudson River, authorities said.

Debris from both aircraft fell into the water on impact.

Rescue divers are "searching for survivors and casualties" at the crash site, which is in the vicinity of West 14th Street in Manhattan between the island and New Jersey, said Paul Browne, the New York Police Department's chief spokesman.

Six people were aboard the helicopter, which belongs to Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours, Brown said.

It was not clear who among the dead and the rescued were aboard which aircraft.

The plane that crashed had taken off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, officials from the Federal Aviation Administration told The Associated Press.
http://www.newsday.com/news/1-dead-as-helicopter-small-...

[stray cat]

5. A tour helicopter - wow

[smokey nj]

14. I wasn't able to see anything. My Hoboken pooch client didn't feel

like a stroll on the waterfront and I couldn't see that far from the window in the the kitty client's apartment.

[stray cat]

15. Thanks anyway

[Stephanie]

6. I just walked over there

Literally hundreds of police and fire vehicles, boats in the water, but not much info beyond what people were getting from their blackberries. I presume they are trying to recover the bodies at this point. I live about two blocks away.

[stray cat]

7. Thanks -

Maybe as many as 6 on the helicopter - 3 on the plane. Helicopter I think was carrying Italians tourists

[Stephanie]

8. Somebody over there said three on the plane

Not sure where she got that from, she was reading from her blackberry.

[stray cat]

9. three in the plane is right - the earlier reports of a survivor may be wrong

[Ian David]

10. WABC-TV reports multiple fatalities after a small plane and helicopter collided over the Hudson

WABC-TV reports there are multiple fatalities after a small plane and helicopter collided over the Hudson River in NYC.
http://twitter.com/BreakingNews/statuses/3196306473

[Ian David]

11. Video: Chopper crashes in Hudson River

Chopper crashes in Hudson. (Video courtesy of CNN) http://www.wivb.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrAW3zQ0l8c

[demoleft]

12. Nine feared dead in NY air crash

Source: bbc

Nine people are feared dead after a tour helicopter and a light aircraft collided near New York City and crashed into the Hudson River.

The collision occurred between Hoboken, in New Jersey, and Manhattan, just across the river.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said six people - one pilot and five Italian tourists - were on the helicopter. Three people including a child were on the plane.

He said no-one was thought to have survived. Two bodies have been found.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8191582.stm

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got it now here. sorry if it's duplicate.

[stray cat]

13. Thanks for the update - details have been sketchy and sometimes inaccurate

[Blue_Tires]

16. i know its a dumb question, but

how do you have a midday low-altitude collision in broad daylight? with two relatively slow-moving aircraft?? don't they all have an automatic collision alert system?

[stray cat]

17. Don't know but there is talk of blind spots like in cars - especially when a plane is turning

I think the idea is that the plane plowed into the helicopter from the back right after turning

[MajorChode]

18. No, very few small planes have any sort of traffic alerting system

All transport category aircraft above a certain size must have something call TCAS.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCAS

It's not required on smaller aircraft. Some aircraft (including what I fly) have less elaborate systems, but even those can be very expensive.

It's also very difficult to see other aircraft. It's nothing at all like trying to avoid traffic in a car. I was flying today and passed within 1 mile of another aircraft that was 1,000' below me and even though I had controllers calling out the traffic and I could see it on my display and knew approximately where it was, I never saw the aircraft.

Flying the Hudson is particularly hazardous because you have a lot of traffic in a small area and sometimes you have pilots sightseeing instead of flying the plane.

[stray cat]

19. Thanks for an experienced view point

[Blue_Tires]

20. thanks for the insights....

so did the local air traffic controller make a mistake?

[MajorChode]

21. I doubt that ATC was involved

As long as you stay below 1100', there's no requirement to talk to ATC and I highly doubt if either aircraft was doing so.

There is a discrete frequency(123.05 Mhz) that aircraft can use for position reporting between each other.

You can go here and see the map that pilots use:
http://skyvector.com/

[Xithras]

22. Even two "relatively slow-moving aircraft" are moving quite quickly.

That small plane was probably moving between 100 and 120MPH, and the helicopter was doing roughly half that.

Small aircraft look like they're moving slowly because there's a lot of distance between you and the craft & because there's nothing to reference their movement against. In this crash, the pilot probably only had moments to react after noticing the other aircraft.