Two aircraft collide over the Hudson River.
An Eurocopter AS350 similar to accident aircraft. Photo by Cambridge Bay Weather.
A helicopter and an airplane crashed into the Hudson River after both aircraft collided sometime around noon yesterday (August 8, 2009). Involved in the accident were a Eurocopter AS 350 BA AStar/Ecureuil (registration N401LH) carrying a pilot and five Italian tourists and a Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance (registration N71MC) with three on board. Up until now (6:30 AM EDT on August 9th), three bodies have been recovered from the Piper and a fourth body has been located.
Piper PA-32 Lance (Saratoga) similar to accident aircraft. Photo by AHunt.
The Piper Lance took off from nearby Teterboro Airport (TEB) in Teterboro, New Jersey at 11:54 AM and was headed south to Ocean City Municipal Airport (26N) in Ocean City, NJ. According to witnesses, the single-engine plane approached the helicopter from behind and neither aircraft appeared to notice the other one. The helicopter, operated by Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours was taking the five Italian tourists on a local sightseeing trip of the New York area. Another Liberty pilot refueling in a nearby heliport saw the airplane approach the helicopter from behind and attempted to warn the helicopter pilot on a common frequency, but there was no response from either aircraft.
Witnesses say the right wing of the airplane clipped the helicopters rotor. The airplane crashed into the Hudson with the helicopter joining it a few seconds later after spiraling out of control. Some debris fell on nearby roads in Hoboken, NJ.
The accident happened in one of the New York area’s busy corridors for aircraft operating under visual flight rules (VFR). The corridors give aircraft a way to pass through the busy airspace of the area’s airports and a lot of light airplanes and helicopters operate inside the corridor so the chances for this kind of mishap are somewhat high compared to other airspace areas. It is a pilot’s responsibility to check for other aircraft in the area, but sometimes it isn’t as easy as simply looking out the window. There are blind spots to which a pilot cannot see and this may have played a role on Saturday’s accident. With the Piper approaching from behind and slightly above, it would have been impossible for the helicopter pilot to notice the airplane approaching and if the helicopter was somewhere close and below the Piper’s nose, it may have been difficult for the airplane’s pilot as well. Of course, all the positional information is based on witnesses’ accounts.
Killed in the Piper were Steven Altman, Daniel Altman, and Douglas Altman. The helicopter’s pilot is Jeremy Clarke and the five Italian tourists have not yet been identified.
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