Army Corps pulls helicopter wreckage from Hudson

[Libertas1776]

Source: Newsday

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat pulled the mangled frame of a sightseeing helicopter from the Hudson River Sunday, a day after it collided in midair with a small private plane. Investigators recovered a seventh body and police said they had located the plane's wreckage just north of the crash site in the water off Hoboken, N.J.

Nine people died in the crash: three members of a Pennsylvania family in the private plane and five Italian tourists and a pilot from New Jersey in the helicopter.One of the Italian victims was a man celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary, a family friend said. His wife, nervous about the flight, had stayed behind, but their 16-year-old son had gone with him.

The plane's pilot was Steven Altman, 60, of Ambler, Pa., two law enforcement officials said. Also in the plane were Daniel Altman, 49, of Dresher, Pa.; and his son, Douglas, 16, the officials said.

Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/army-corps-pulls-helicopter-wreckage-from-hudson-1.1358587

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So very very tragic, but an incident that should have been easily avoided. Sadly, no miracle on the Hudson his time.

[Ex Lurker]

1. how awful

much discussion of this on other forums. The general consensus of fixed wing pilots is they're very nervous when helicopters are in the area. They can do unpredictable things. Not that the helicopter is necessarily to blame in this particular instance.

Other opinions expressed: sightseeing aircraft should have separate tourguides, the pilot should concentrate on flying. 80% of all midair collisions are one aircraft overtaking the other, because there's no change in apparent angle, and the only visual cue you have is the aircraft getting bigger. Also, bluebird days are especially dangerous, because people tend to let their guard down in good weather. I'm not a pilot, just some things I've read from people who are.