The accident, which New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called "not survivable," scattered debris into the river and onto the Hoboken, N.J., waterfront. It happened just after noon between Manhattan and Hoboken on a crystal clear summer day.
Two bodies were recovered in the water, one floating free and one in the wreckage. Other bodies have been spotted in the debris. The crash victims included five Italian tourists and a pilot on the helicopter and the three people on the plane, including a child, Bloomberg said.
"This is not going to have a happy ending," Bloomberg said. He said he thought it fair to say "this has changed from a rescue to a recovery mission."
The plane, a Piper PA-32, took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, and the helicopter was a Eurocopter AS 350 owned by Liberty Helicopters, a sightseeing and charter company, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Liberty offers sightseeing and helicopter charter flights in the New York City region.
The mid-air collision was the fifth crash involving Liberty Helicopters since 2001, according to National Transportation Safety Board accident reports. No one was seriously hurt in any of the previous accidents. The company has had more accidents on sightseeing flights than any of its competitors, NTSB records show.
The plane was headed to Ocean City, N.J., FAA spokesman Jim Peters said. The helicopter had just taken off from a heliport on Manhattan's West side.
People who saw the crash and its aftermath described the two aircrafts colliding not far from the Hoboken shoreline, and said the impact sheared off the plane's wing.
"There was a loud pop, almost like a car backfire," said Buzz Nahas, who saw the crash from Hoboken. "The helicopter dropped like a rock."
Katie Tanski, of Hoboken, heard the noise of the collision, looked up and saw chaos in the air.
"We saw the helicopter propellers fly all over," she said. Some pieces of the wreckage fell on land, sending Tanski and others scurrying for cover.
Seven months ago, the same river was the scene of a spectacular aircraft accident that resulted in no loss of life. In January, a US Airways flight taking off from LaGuardia Airport slammed into a flock of birds and lost power in both engines. The plane crash-landed in the Hudson River, and all 155 people on board were pulled to safety.
A person who answered the phone at a Liberty Helicopters office declined to comment on the accident, but said the company would be releasing a statement.
The company runs sightseeing excursions around the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Manhattan at costs ranging from $130 to about $1,000. The firm's website had flights of various lengths. The longest flight, lasting 22-25 minutes, is called "Romance Over Manhattan," said the website.
A Liberty helicopter struck another chopper while attempting to take off from a heliport at West 30th Street in New York, N.Y., on March 22, 2008. None of the four passengers or the pilot were injured on the sightseeing flight.
In another accident, a Liberty helicopter crashed Sept. 19, 2008, in Linden, N.J., during a training flight. Neither pilot was injured, the NTSB said.
In one case on July 7, 2007, a Liberty Eurocopter EC130B4 lost power over the Hudson River and made an emergency landing in the water. The pilot and all seven passengers, who were wearing inflatable life vests around their waists, escaped without injury, the NTSB said.
The NTSB has not yet concluded what caused the accident.
On June 14, 2001, a Liberty helicopter struck trees in darkness and fog in Hopewell, N.J., the NTSB said. The safety board found that the pilot was at fault for continuing the flight into poor weather. The pilot and six passengers aboard the charter flight received minor injuries.
Contributing: Alan Levin, USA TODAY, in Washington; Associated Press
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