Authorities Believe Helicopter/Plane Collision in NYC Today Was Not Survivable

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The search for nine people aboard a small plane and a helicopter that collided Saturday over the Hudson River has become a recovery mission, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Two bodies have been recovered, but it was unclear whether the second was from the crash, which authorities “do not feel was survivable.” Two passengers, including a child, and a pilot were believed to have been aboard the single-engine Piper PA-32 when it collided with the copter around noon between New York and Hoboken, New Jersey, Bloomberg said. Five Italian tourists and a pilot were believed to be aboard the helicopter, an American Eurocopter AS350 operated by Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours, Bloomberg said. Relatives of the victims were receiving counseling, he said. At least one piece of wreckage was found, but the murky waters of the Hudson, where underwater visibility is about two feet, hampered divers’ efforts, Bloomberg said. Preliminary reports indicated the airplane ran into the back of the helicopter, Bloomberg said, but warned that no official information was yet available. iReport.com: Police search for debris “Until the National Transportation Safety Board makes its determination, nothing is a fact,” he said. Earlier, the Coast Guard reported it had rescued one person from the river.

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