|  "No survivors found after plane and helicopter crash over Hudson River"
[The Star-Ledger] Saturday August 08, 2009, 11:00 PM
http://www.nj.com/news/in...
Micheal Bloombergs speech, video footage
http://www.examiner.com/x...
I posted summary after summary, having computer problems, will follow up with my notes this afternoon, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
August 8, 2009
Witnesses reported hearing loud bang, one said it sounded like 'bomb', one said it appeared as if plane descended down onto helicopter from behind, the blade of helicopter sliced into plane and chopped right wing off. Air Traffic temporarily stopped, recovery due to proceed 7am this morning.
Piper PA-32
* Crew: One
* Capacity: five passengers (or six with optional seat)
* Length: 27.7 ft in (8.4 m)
* Wingspan: 32.8 ft in (10.0 m)
* Height: 7.9 ft in (2.4 m)
* Wing area: 174.5 ft² (16.5 m²)
* Wing profile: NACA 65-415
* Empty weight: 1788 lb (811 kg)
* Gross weight: 3400 lb (1542 kg)
* Powerplant: One × Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, 300 hp (225 kW) each
Performance
* Maximum speed: 174 mph (280 km/h)
* Cruise speed: 168 mph (272 km/h)
* Range: 840 miles (1361 km)
* Service ceiling: 16250 ft (4950 m)
Previous incidents:
1997, a Liberty helicopter tore into the side of a one-story building at the heliport,
In 1998, one of its helicopters crashed into a terminal building at its West 30th Street heliport and three people sustained minor injuries.
2005, 2 helicopters crashed in the East River just days apart, several were seriously hurt. One, a charter carrying executives of MBNA bank, the helicopter completely submerged. "In the earlier of the two 2005 crashes, a sightseeing trip operated by Helicopter Flight Services, the pontoons inflated, but the craft was upside down, trapping all the passengers underwater."
July 7, 2007, 8 people injured , same company as helicopter, recovered next day, consistent 'no comment' from Liberty Helicopters, FAA says it was a "controlled landing" but Jose Mejia (off-duty paramedic) says:
"I heard the propellers going and heard the engine making a very loud noise," Mejia said. "We went straight into the water."
Aircraft: Eurocopter EC-130 helicopter
Witnesses said the aircraft was heading south over the river around 4:50 p.m. and made a loud booming noise before it glided downward, its rotors shattering and smoke pouring out.
January 17, 2009 Miracle Flight 1541, flock of birds, recovered 8 days later from Hudson,
"The blow had come out of nowhere. The NTSB said radar data confirmed that the aircraft intersected a group of "primary targets," almost certainly birds, as the jet climbed over the Bronx. Those targets had not been on the radar screen of the air traffic controller who approved the departure," Kitty Higgins, a NTSB board member said.
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