Controller discussing dead cat prior to Hudson crash
— -- The air traffic controller handling the small plane involved in a deadly crash with a helicopter over the Hudson River was chatting on the telephone about a dead cat at the airport and initially failed to warn the pilot of other aircraft in his path, officials said.
The controller tried unsuccessfully to contact the pilot before the accident, officials said Friday, but the plane collided with a tour helicopter over the Hudson River, killing nine people.
The National Transportation Safety Board said that other aircraft, including the sightseeing helicopter carrying five Italian tourists that hit the small plane, had been visible on radar shortly before the crash.
The phone call, to an airport contractor, was a "silly conversation" concerning a dead cat that had been removed from the airport, a retired union official said, in an account supported by transportation officials also familiar with the contents of the call.
The supervisor on duty at the Teterboro facility is also under investigation because he or she was not there at the time of the accident, the FAA said. Both the controller and the supervisor are on paid leave.
The announcement by the NTSB raises questions about whether controllers may have some responsibility for the dramatic mid-air over the Hudson that occurred in front of thousands of people on a sunny Saturday. The collision killed three members of a Pennsylvania family in the small plane, the five Italian tourists and the helicopter pilot.
The impact was captured on video by tourists on a boat in the river and broadcast Friday by NBC. It shows the two aircraft converging at an angle. They struck each other with such force that one of the plane's wings was ripped loose.
The NTSB warned in its release that it has not determined who is at fault in the crash and said conclusions "at this time are speculative and premature."
The FAA has said there is no reason to believe the controller's actions contributed to the accident. However, the agency said the phone conversation was inappropriate and such conduct is unacceptable.
As the plane and the helicopter approached each other at 11:53 a.m., alarm horns that warn when planes get too close began sounding at towers in Teterboro and nearby Newark Liberty International Airport, the NTSB said.
Controllers in both facilities told investigators they did not hear the alert, the NTSB reported.
Controllers are encouraged to warn small planes when they get close to other traffic. But if the planes are flying under so-called "visual rules" — which allows pilots to fly their own route without oversight from controllers — there is no requirement for controllers to issue the warning.
The NTSB release does not make clear under what rules the small plane pilot was flying.
The Teterboro controller had instructed the pilot to radio Newark tower, but the pilot had not done so. Teterboro Airport is popular with general aviation and business aircraft and is located just north of Newark
The Newark controller noticed that the small plane was headed toward several other aircraft, including the tourist helicopter, the NTSB said. The controller then called the Teterboro controller to request that the small plane turn to the southwest to avoid the other aircraft.
"The Teterboro controller then attempted to contact the airplane but the pilot did not respond," the NTSB said.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the controllers' union, issued a statement Thursday urging that the investigation be completed "before there is a rush to judgment about the behavior of any controller."
Contributors: Associated Press