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19 March 2024

Plane crashes in New York's Hudson River

Officials remove a plane out of the Hudson River a day after it crashed, Saturday, May 28, 2016, in North Bergen, N.J.(AP)

Published
By Reuters

A World War Two-era plane crashed on Friday in New York City's Hudson River off Manhattan and a body was recovered from inside the aircraft, authorities said.

The aircraft went down off Manhattan's West 79th Street, a few miles south of the George Washington Bridge, at around 7.30 pm, New Jersey State Police Sergeant Jeff Flynn said.

The New York Police Department said it recovered a body from inside the plane and believe it was the pilot, but could not confirm it was the pilot.

Flynn initially said the plane's sole occupant, a male pilot, was rescued from the river and transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.

The agency later said on its Twitter account that there were conflicting reports from the scene and they could no longer confirm the swimmer in the water was the plane's pilot.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a vintage P-47 Thunderbolt and was one of three aircraft that took off from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, New York.

Flynn said the plane was in the area because of Fleet Week, a week-long celebration of the U.S. military's seafaring service members. The other two aircraft safely returned to the airport.

An investigation has been launched into what caused the crash.

A large police and fire department presence was visible at the makeshift rescue headquarters at the 79th Street Boat Basin, where diners at a nearby restaurant looked on at the operations.

Roughly a half dozen police and fire rescue boats adorned with flashing blue lights trawled the river into Friday night as authorities continued the search.