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HOBOKEN (CBS) ― It's been more than 24 hours since a small plane and helicopter collided, killing everyone on board, and crews are still searching for wreckage and answers in the Hudson River.

Divers located all but two of the victims' bodies before recovery operations were suspended for the evening, and the search is narrowing in on the other aircraft involved.

Recovery crews were also able to lift part of the mangled chopper out of the river. Side-scan sonar spotted the chopper nearly 30 feet underwater.

So far, divers have found seven victims in the murky waters.

Investigators say that it's too soon to determine what caused the collision, but they do know that Teterboro Airport lost contact with the single-engine plane at around 11:53 a.m. Saturday.

"The last radar return showed the aircraft at 1,100 feet at 11:53," NTSB Chair Debbie Hersman said.

Small planes and choppers are not required to have black boxes, so federal authorities will have to rely on witnesses who saw the horrific collision. One photographer captured a picture as the plane and helicopter crashed.

Chris Petrock has already told NTSB officials what he saw.

"'Boom,' right in front of my face," Petrock said. "The helicopter started disintegrating mid-air, and then I hear a loud noise of a rotor stopping, grinding to a halt."

Petrock says the chopper's tail fell into the water, and then "the main cab nose-dived into the Hudson."

All five Italian tourists and their pilot in the chopper were killed, as well as three family members on the small plane.

NTSB investigators will be looking at everything, including visibility on the day of the collision – and whether any of the pilots could have been distracted.

Investigators are asking anyone in the public who has information on the crash or spots debris washing ashore to call authorities.

"If, by chance, there's anyone still out there who videotaped it, then it would be helpful to have that as well," Hersman said.


The helicopter company, Liberty Helicopters, released the name of the pilot in the crash: Jeremy Clark, of Lanoka Harbor, N.J.

The plane's pilot was 60-year-old Steven Altman, of Ambler, Pa., the two law enforcement officials told the AP. Also in the plane were 49-year-old Daniel Altman, of Dresher, Pa.; and his 16-year-old son, Douglas, the officials said.

The five tourists were from the Bologna, Italy, area. The two officials identified them as 51-year-old Michele Norelli, 16-year-old Filippo Norelli, 49-year-old Fabio Galazzi, 15-year-old Giacomo Gallazi and 44-year-old Tiziana Pedroni.

The accident happened in a busy general aviation corridor over the river where pilots are generally free to pick their own route, as long as they stay under 1,000 feet and don't stray too close to Manhattan's skyscrapers.

"If we identify any safety issues that need to be addressed in the meantime, we have the ability to issue urgent safety recommendations prior to the report," Hersman said.

The skies over the river are often filled with pleasure craft, buzzing by for a view of the Statue of Liberty.

Saturday's accident recalled another crash involving New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor, who died when their plane hit a skyscraper while flying a popular sightseeing route in 2006.

In January, the river was the scene of a spectacular aircraft landing that resulted in no loss of life after a US Airways flight taking off from LaGuardia Airport, in Queens, slammed into a flock of birds and lost power in both engines. The plane crash-landed in the river, and all 155 people on board were pulled to safety.

The NTSB has long expressed concern that federal safety oversight of helicopter tours isn't rigorous enough. The Federal Aviation Administration hasn't implemented more than a dozen NTSB recommendations aimed at improving the safety of the tours, called on-demand flight operations.

A report by the U.S. Department of Transportation's inspector general last month found that 109 people died in accidents involving on-demand flights in 2007 and 2008, while no one died in commercial airline accidents.

The plane, a Piper PA-32, was registered to LCA Partnership in Fort Washington, Pa. The address is shared by a real estate company run by Steven Altman. A woman who answered the telephone Saturday at Altman's home hung up, and police wouldn't let reporters enter a private driveway leading to the home.

Liberty Tours runs sightseeing excursions around the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Manhattan at costs ranging from $130 to about $1,000.

Two years ago, a Liberty helicopter fell 500 feet from the sky during a sightseeing trip. The pilot was credited with safely landing the chopper in the Hudson and helping evacuate her seven passengers.

In 1997, a rotor on one of its sightseeing helicopters clipped a Manhattan building, forcing an emergency landing. No one was hurt.



 

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