Divers recovered a piece of a submerged helicopter and a fourth body yesterday as investigators searched the Hudson River in New York for wreckage from the helicopter and a small plane that collided in mid-air, killing nine people.
Investigators also were searching for pictures and video of the accident, which was seen by thousands out enjoying a summer day.
Nine people – three members of a Pennsylvania family in the private plane, five Italian tourists and a pilot from New
Jersey in the Liberty Tours helicopter – died in the collision.
One of the Italian victims was a husband celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary, a family friend said. His wife had stayed behind, but their 16-year-old son was also in the helicopter.
The fourth body was recovered yesterday. National Transportation Safety Board chairman Debbie Hersman said a nearby helicopter pilot saw the plane approaching the in-flight helicopter and tried to alert his fellow pilot. He radioed the doomed helicopter and said "You have a fixed-wing behind you," but there was no response from the pilot, said Ms Hersman.
The pilot then saw the plane's right wing clip the helicopter, and both aircraft split apart and fell into the river.
The two aircraft went down just south of the stretch of river where a US Airways jet landed safely seven months ago. But this accident was, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg "unsurvivable." New York Police Department boats about 100 yards from Hoboken's waterfront circled three buoys that marked the wreckage of the helicopter. Three New Jersey State Police divers were in the choppy waters. The plane has not yet been found.
A US Army Corps of Engineers crane was moved near the helicopter wreckage, which authorities hoped to remove today. Strong currents and poor visibility hampered efforts to recover the bodies.
