ANOTHER HUDSON RIVER PLANE ACCIDENT

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NINE BELIEVED DEAD AS
PLANE AND HELICOPTER COLLIDE
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Police At The Crash Scene

Nine people are believed to be dead, after a private plane and a tourist helicopter collided in mid-air above the Hudson River off Lower Manhattan. The crash happened a little before noon today, New York City Time, across from tourist packed pier 40. It involved a Piper PA-32 plane, which is a fixed wing single-engine plane, and a helicopter belonging to Liberty Tours. According to Mayor Bloomberg, the plane was carrying a pilot and two passengers. The helicopter was carrying a total of six people, five of whom were Italian tourists. He described the mid-air collision as "not survivable." One of the tourists was a child, but his or her age was not immediately known. The plane, which was manufactured in 1976, was registered to LCA Partnership from Fort Washington in Pennsylvania. It took off from Teterboro Airport in Teaneck, New Jersey shortly before noon, said Laura Brown, who is a spokeswoman for the FAA. The Liberty Tours helicopter was believed to be either taking off or landing at a heliport on 14 Street, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Coast Guard said. She said the airframe of the plane has been recovered. New York officials say the emergency response was "multi-agency". Rescue workers from the New York City Police Department, New York City Fire Department, the Army Crew of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard are among the agencies responding. The Transportation Safety Board is on it's way to the crash site.