Scuba divers recovered a body from the plane about three hours later, New York Police Department Detective Michael Debonis said. Search and rescue was headed to the scene. However, a short while later, the NYPD said the pilot was still “unaccounted for”.
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In a later statement, the FAA said that the aircraft was one of three that had departed from Republic Airport on Long Island.
“Apparently the aircraft suffered an in-flight engine failure and the pilot put it into the Hudson”, Lewi said.
The Coast Guard confirmed to 1010 WINS that a plane went down in the river, reportedly on the West New York, New Jersey side across from the 79th Street Boat Basin.
The Associated Press reported that the plane was participating in the annual Fleet Week and had engine trouble before it went down.
But ultimately, the plane was left completely submerged in the river.
He was referring to Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson off Manhattan in 2009, becoming a national hero. The other two aircraft returned to Republic Airport and landed safely.
The aircraft may have been in town for the Jones Beach air show on Saturday and Sunday. He said the plane sank “pretty quickly”. The Thunderbolt was armed with eight.50-caliber machine guns – four per wing – and could carry a bomb load of 2,500 pounds.
“Despite its size, the P-47 proved to be one of the best performing fighters to see combat”, the museum’s website said. They say he’s being taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
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“I thought was making a water landing, but then we saw the other planes turning around and we thought something is wrong”, said witness Sabine De Meuter. “It’s an honor to fly them”.
