Global Airport News

Global Airport News

Plane wreckage and the bodies of the two missing victims of a midair collision over New York's Hudson River were recovered from the murky waters on Tuesday, three days after the crash that killed nine people.

Five Italian tourists in a helicopter, two passengers in a small plane and the two pilots died on Saturday when their aircraft collided and plunged into the river that separates New York and New Jersey. There were no survivors.

"We have recovered both of the final bodies in this terrible accident. With the recovery of these two, all nine people are accounted for," said New York police spokesman Paul Browne.

The plane had just taken off from nearby Teterboro, New Jersey, airport at midday on Saturday when it collided with the helicopter, which had just lifted off on a scheduled 12-minute sightseeing flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the accident, which has prompted calls for more regulation of air traffic above New York's waterways. These air corridors are major routes for small aircraft.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the plane, a Piper Saratoga, appeared to hit the back of the helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350 operated by Liberty Helicopter, the largest sightseeing helicopter operator in the northeastern United States.

Photos taken by witnesses showed one of the plane's wings came off in the collision, as did the helicopter's rotors.

Authorities said it is not likely that the plane or helicopter were carrying recording equipment that could help in the investigation. Small aircraft are not required to carry such devices.

On average, 225 aircraft operate daily within a 3-mile radius of the accident site at or below 1,100 feet, which was the elevation of the plane involved in the collision, the NTSB has said.

The crash occurred near the site where a US Airways jet with more than 150 people on board splashed down last winter after hitting a flock of geese. All aboard survived.

In 2005 two helicopters, including a sightseeing flight, plunged into New York's East River, but everyone on board survived. A year later, New York Yankees baseball player Cory Lidle and his flight instructor died when their small plane smashed into a Manhattan apartment building.

Two years ago, a sightseeing helicopter flown by Liberty Helicopters crashed into the Hudson River. Everyone survived.