Mid-air Collision on the Hudson River - Essay Example

Mid-air Collision on the Hudson River There are a number of accidents have occurred which claimed lives and destroy equipment in the history of aviation. Common reasons to such accidents are the unpredictable weather conditions, failed precautionary signals of the aviation vehicles, and the ability of the pilot to adjust to difficult situations. In a crystalline sky of New York on August 8, 2009, an unexpected air tragedy had happened, claiming the lives of the pilots of both private plane and helicopter and their passengers.

New York City’s mayor stated that the crash is “not survivable” (McFadden). Private Plane PA32 was on its way to Ocean City, New Jersey via Hudson River on that day when another aircraft Eurocopter AS350 is sightseeing, carrying 5 Italian tourists. A radar data by the NTSB shows that both aircrafts were at a low level, while witnesses said that neither of them attempted to avoid the crash and investigations revealed that neither also sent warning alerts to prevent it. The collision is said to have damaged the private plane’s left wing causing it to nose dive into the Hudson River.

Meanwhile, the helicopter’s propeller was also destroyed in the collision and immediately crashed into the river (Schapiro, Cruz, Gendar and McShane). Right after the accident, three bodies were found and recovered from the Hudson River while debris of the aircrafts were found at about 30ft. to 60ft. underwater together with the other bodies. Investigations of the crash considered all sides of the tragic event: from pilots’ profiles, current health state in time of the crash, possible technical difficulties, and vehicles’ features that may hinder pilot visibility.

In the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) report, both pilots were in perfect health state, although the one piloting the private plane was found out to be positive of ethanol, but the amount would not cause inability to drive the aircraft; instead, the lack of efficient communication from the plane to the airport caused the problem. Reportedly, the plane pilot communicated with “the clearance delivery controller at the TEB air traffic control tower (ATCT) at 1140:01” (NTSB 1), telling the controller that he would take the route to Hudson River; a message that the controller failed to transmit to the Newark Liberty Airport.

When the two aircrafts were about to collide, both sent warning signals to the “TEB local controller and the EWR Class B airspace controller” but both controllers attested that no alert signals were detected in the time the two aircrafts were about to collide (15). By this note, technical difficulty is on the list of the possible reasons of the crash. Safety recommendation from the NTSB required all aircrafts of the upgrading of their alert systems and alert methods in order for the controllers to fully and accurately capture warning signals.

Both aircrafts seem to have failed to comply with the safety recommendation. An overall conclusion of the NTSB report on the accident would reveal two probable causes. One would be the “the inherent limitations of the see-and-avoid concept” because of the position of one of the aircrafts and the failure of communication (41). Works Cited McFadden, Robert D. “9 Dead After Copter and Plane Collide Over Hudson.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Aug. 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2011. . National Transportation Safety Board.

“Aircraft Accident Summary Report: Midair Collision Over Hudson River Piper PA?32R?300, N71MC and Eurocopter AS350BA, N401LH Near Hoboken, New Jersey.” National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB, 14 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Jan. 2010. . Schapiro, Rich, Wil Cruz, Allison Gendar, and Larry McShane. “Helicopter, Small Plane Collide, Crash in Hudson River; Mayor Bloomberg: All 9 Onboard Presumed Dead.” NY Daily News. NY Daily News, 09 Aug. 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2011. .