Aircraft down in Hudson being reported

NTSB has amended its report...

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal safety officials investigating a midair collision over the Hudson River changed their account of the accident on a key point Monday, saying an air tour helicopter struck by a small plane wasn't initially visible on radar to an air traffic controller handling the plane.

The National Transportation Safety Board had previously said the controller failed to warn the plane's pilot of the potential for a collision with several aircraft in its path, including the helicopter, before handing off responsibility for the plane to another airport.

Nine people—three aboard the plane and five Italian tourists and a pilot aboard the helicopter—were killed in the Aug. 8 accident over a busy area of the river between New York and New Jersey.

The board now says in a statement released Monday that while the controller at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey failed to warn of several aircraft in the path of the single-engine Piper, the tour helicopter wasn't one of the aircraft on the controller's radar screen until seven seconds after the handoff to nearby Newark Liberty International Airport.

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The federal government is kicking the air traffic controller's union out of the investigation into the fatal midair collision over the Hudson.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the National Air Traffic Controllers Association has been improperly commenting about the investigation in the media. Normal procedure is for the NTSB to take the lead on media matters.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/ ... fault.aspx

Yep like I said it's gotten ugly and it's a shame but the ATC union is def circling the wagons here and the NTSB is playing hardball. It is far from over. IMO this controller really effed up but I can say he caused this. The timeline is tricky and he may not have seen that helo in time.

Interesting read below, TEB Tower phone transcript highlights !

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32483581/ns/us_news-life

LGA777

Protip: Don't have idiotic conversations on recorded lines.

That controller has more problems. I hear PETA is upset with him about the barbeque cat comment.

http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/fe ... -1.1453036

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Feds: Pilot in Hudson collision had wrong radio frequency
September 16, 2009 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The pilot of a plane involved in a mid-air collision over the Hudson River read back the wrong radio frequency to an air traffic controller but wasn’t corrected by the controller, a federal safety official said Wednesday.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman told a congressional committee Wednesday that shortly after the single-engine Piper took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, a Teterboro controller handed off the plane to nearby Newark Liberty International.

During the handoff, the controller instructed the Piper pilot to contact Newark and gave him the radio frequency. However, air traffic control recordings show the frequency the pilot read back was incorrect, Hersman said. There is no indication that any controller heard the incorrect readback or attempted to correct it, she said.

Less than a minute after the incorrect readback, the plane collided with an air tour helicopter, sending both aircraft hurtling into the river. All three people aboard the plane and a pilot and five Italian tourists aboard the helicopter were killed.

A preliminary review shows the pilot never contacted Newark controllers, Hersman told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee at a hearing on the accident.

Those controllers saw on radar that the plane was heading toward the helicopter, which was just taking off on the New York side of the river. They called the Teterboro controller and asked him to redirect the plane. The Teterboro controller twice tried unsuccessfully to contact the plane. Hersman said investigators are reviewing recordings for other air traffic frequencies in an effort to discover whether the pilot was trying to contact Newark on the incorrect frequency.

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This was only noticed now?

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Originally Posted by Phil D.

This was only noticed now?

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Hmm, wouldn't the NTSB power up the comm radios and check what freqs were dialed in?

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Originally Posted by Phil D.

This was only noticed now?

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It was made public Wednesday during the hearing, they didn't say when they listened to the tapes and determined it.

I think they knew he was on the wrong freq. The incorrect readback, however, is a new detail, and probably will bring heat back on the controller who was chatting on the phone.

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Originally Posted by GothamSpotter

I think they knew he was on the wrong freq. The incorrect readback, however, is a new detail, and probably will bring heat back on the controller who was chatting on the phone.

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Controller and supervisor FIRED and new rules for the Hudson corridor.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... prove.html

Hmm CBS news at 6 just said that report was not accurate and that the FAA have just recommended termination. I will keep an eye out for more links. No doubt the union will fight it.

[quote="NIKV69"]Hmm CBS news at 6 just said that report was not accurate and that the FAA have just recommended termination.

What? the media got the info wrong? :o :o
No way!!! :lol:

I don't think he is fired, I met the guy like 2 weeks ago...thats all I can say though...

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Originally Posted by Gerard

What? the media got the info wrong? :o :o
No way!!! :lol:

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No they didn't:

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Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Aviation Administration proposed firing an air traffic controller and supervisor on duty when a helicopter and airplane collided over the Hudson River in August, killing nine people. The two are appealing the decision, and no final determination has been made, said Laura Brown, an FAA spokeswoman. Randy Babbitt, the agency’s administrator, told reporters on a conference call earlier today that they had been fired.

Full Story

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The FAA Administrator gave them the wrong information.