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US investigators search for clues in NYC air crash
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Debbie Hersman told a news conference that a helicopter pilot on the ground at the heliport for Liberty Tours, which operated the doomed sightseeing craft, saw the plane approaching the helicopter and tried to alert the helicopter pilot.
“He radioed the accident helicopter and told him, ‘One-lima-hotel. You have a fixed-wing behind you.' There was no response from the pilot,”' she said. Then, the pilot on the ground saw the plane's right wing strike the helicopter and both aircraft “descended into the Hudson 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 time, there was no miracle.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the midair crash was “unsurvivable.” The helicopter carried five Italians tourists and the plane had two passengers, including a child.
The river's strong currents and poor visibility hampered divers' efforts to recover the bodies. Hersman said challenging river conditions also prevented investigators from marking the location of the plane.
“I think they are coming back with some promising returns and they will continue to look” later on Sunday, she said.
She said she did not know if there were black boxes or other recording devices on the two aircraft. Aircraft of their size are not required to have such equipment.
“Even if we do not recover any recording device ... the NTSB can still determine the cause of the accident,” Hersman said.
She said federal investigators did not know the altitude of the two craft, information it hoped to verify with air traffic control later on Sunday.
The accident happened in a busy general aviation corridor over the river. Pilots have some freedom to pick their own route, as long as they stay under 1,000 feet (305 meters) and don't stray too close to Manhattan's skyscrapers. The skies over the river are often filled with pleasure craft, buzzing by for a view of the Statue of Liberty.
“We'll be looking exactly at where these aircraft were located at the time of the collision,” Hersman said. “Visual flight rules prevail ... you are supposed to be alert and see and avoid other aircraft in the vicinity.”
The NTSB also appealed for the public's help, asking anyone with photos or video of the collision to contact investigators.
Saturday's accident recalled another crash involving New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor, who died when their plane hit a skyscraper while flying a popular sightseeing route in 2006.
In January, the river was the scene of a spectacular aircraft landing that resulted in no loss of life after a US Airways flight taking off from LaGuardia Airport, in Queens, slammed into a flock of birds and lost power in both engines. The plane crash-landed in the river, and all 155 people on board were pulled to safety.
The NTSB has long expressed concern that federal safety oversight of helicopter tours isn't rigorous enough. The Federal Aviation Administration hasn't implemented more than a dozen NTSB recommendations aimed at improving the safety of the tours, called on-demand flight operations.
A report by the US Department of Transportation's inspector general last month found that 109 people died in accidents involving on-demand flights in 2007 and 2008, while no one died in commercial airline accidents.
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