Nine believed dead in plane-chopper collision in New York

Nine persons were presumed dead when a helicopter carrying a group of Italian tourists had a mid-air collision with a small private plane over the Hudson river in New York, authorities said today.

The crash, which sent debris flying around and spread panic among people on the New Jersey waterfront, has raised questions about the safety standards of for-hire sightseeing flights, particularly after reports emerged that a federal watchdog earlier warned about lax oversight for such services.

The bodies of two adults and one child were recovered after the collision, which occurred at around noon yesterday over the Hudson between New York and Hoboken, New Jersey.

All nine people in both aircrafts are thought to have been killed in the collision, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "There was an accident which we do not believe was survivable," he said.

Five Italian tourists visiting New York from Bologna are among those believed killed, CNN reported. The tourists, who apparently died with the chopper's pilot, were part of a group of 12 visiting the US, it said citing law enforcement sources.

The helicopter, operated by Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours, rammed into the single-engine Piper PA-32 Saratoga plane that took off from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, authorities said.

Media reports here identified the owner of the plane as Steven Altman, whose brother and nephew also were among the victims. The helicopter wreckage was found in about 30 feet of water, while the plane is believed to be near the midchannel point of the Hudson in deeper water.

The Associated Press reported that the The Department of Transportation's inspector general had sharply criticised the Federal Aviation Administration in a report for providing significantly weaker safety oversight of the "on-demand" flight industry -- companies hired to fly aircraft, both helicopters and planes, that seat less than 30 people -- than it does of the commercial airline industry.

National Transportation Safety Board chairman Debbie Hersman said in an interview with The AP before the Hudson river accident that the report makes it clear "that there is disparate level of oversight."

Witnesses reported seeing debris flying from the helicopter as it crashed.

Witness Arnold Stevens said after the plane had a wing sheared off, it began "corkscrewing" into the water. The helicopter "dropped like a rock" after the collision.

Ben Berman, a former investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said if the helicopter fell straight down, it's likely there was a rotor failure.

Earlier in January, a US Airways plane with 155 people lost power over New York but the pilot made a successful splash landing in the Hudson and all passengers were rescued.