No article yet, saw the “Breaking News” headline on MSNBC’s site. Any info?
Sully flies choppers now?
A friend who is a 911 operator in MA and gets pager alerts posted on Facebook:
MANHATTAN, NY (NYC) FATAL AIRCRAFT CRASH BOX 0501: WEST ST C/S CHRISTOPHER ST. B-2 CONFIRMS A SMALL PLANE VRS HELICOPTER 10-60 MAJOR EMERGENCY TRANSMITTED
He then posted as a follow up:
A Liberty tour helo with 6 people on board struck a plane and crashed near West st in the Hudson.
CNN.com s reporting the same now:
cnn.com/2009/US/08/08/hudson … index.html
Damn, looks like at least one survivor from this article from Reuters:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A tour helicopter collided with a small plane and both crashed outside Hoboken, New Jersey, sending debris falling into the Hudson River, police reported on Saturday.
There was no immediate report on casualties. CNN said the helicopter had six people aboard.
Search and rescue crews were in the area, which is just across the Hudson from New York City. Fox TV said one survivor had been pulled from the river and police divers were looking for others. The weather around the time of the accident was reported to be clear and mild.
The helicopter was operated by Liberty Helicopter, local media said. The company says on its website it is the largest sightseeing and charter helicopter operator in the U.S. Northeast.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5771N120090808
I’d hate to ask speculative questions so early on so I’ll wait a bit.
N71MC, based in KLOM.
I think they went from LOM to TEB, then down the Hudson.
Hoping for the best…
You know they make you do all this extra crap for going anywhere near DC, how about some required training procedures for operating VFR around NYC.
Would the flight of the Saratoga or the helicopter be on LiveATC? I don’t think KTEB is available.
The genius talking head on FOX news is trying to stir the pot that the Saratoga isn’t safe because there have been 10 accidents since 2008. 
Not sure if 123.05 is one of their feeds. But thats the freq to self announce at the various checkpoints.
The aircraft is a Piper PA-32.
Just would like to add that I live in Hoboken for much of the year. I witnessed the US airways incident immediately after impact.
There is so much air traffic day and night up and down the Hudson. The angle at which some of those helos lift off is pretty remarkable.
I have a couple of theories of what happened but will wait for more information.
Just to add, I am not in Hoboken right now.
The recovered the plane’s black box.
nbcnewyork.com/news/local-be … 90622.html
FAA spokesman Jim Peters confirmed the plane took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey in a “southerly direction.” The Newark radio tower reported losing radar contact with the aircraft, initially believing it went into the Hudson, Peters said. The plane was en route to Ocean City. It’s black box has been recovered.
Peters wasn’t sure what, if any, radio contact there may have been with the chopper. He noted that current rules allow helicopters to fly without contact if sightseeing over the Hudson and below 1,100 feet.
A black box in a Saratoga? Idiots.
Looks like the Piper over ran the helicopter hitting him in from the right rear at 1000 msl.
N71MC in red. I think the chopper is displayed as fixed wing in his 11:00. Right after this N71MC is at 400’.
That is a terrific screen grab, if it is accurate.
This is a little far fetched, sorry. It’s not to late to edit your post.
This is after the impact. It appears the helicopter’s transponder was knocked off line on impact.
What’s far fetched? Play it for yourself.
Can we wait til the bodies are cold before we come to a conclusion about whose fault it is. The resolution\reliability of that site is questionable. What’s the altitude of the helicopter. Was his transponder working at that moment? Obviously you don’t know.
I’m just sayin, relax, wait for more real details.
No one is assigning fault. Yes the transponder of the helicopter was working before impact. He was climbing out from where the highway crosses the river just north of the accident site.
Again, go play it for your self. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Hey, how can you tell this was the tail number of the craft?