Hudson River Mid-Air Collision

Date: August 8, 2009 • Location: Hoboken, United States

Nine people died when a tour helicopter and a small private airplane collided over the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey.

On August 8, 2009, at 11:53 a.m. (15:53 UTC), nine people died when a tour Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopter and a small private Piper PA-32R airplane collided over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. The aircraft were in an area known as the "Hudson River VFR Corridor", which extends from the surface of the river to altitudes of 800 to 1,500 ft at various locations along the Hudson River in the immediate area of New York City. Within this corridor, aircraft operate under visual flight rules (VFR), under which the responsibility to see and avoid other air traffic rests with the individual pilots rather than with the air traffic controller (ATC).