Traffic Copter Crash Kills Reporter; 1 Hurt
NEW YORK — A traffic helicopter plunged into the Hudson River as the reporter aboard frantically screamed, “Hit the water!†in a live radio broadcast Wednesday. The accident killed the reporter and critically injured the pilot.
More than a dozen passers-by jumped into the water to try to rescue the two WNBC employees aboard the helicopter, which crashed in the Hudson near the aircraft carrier Intrepid, a permanently docked museum, officials said.
Minutes later, scuba divers pulled the occupants from the helicopter.
Jane Dornacker, 40, the traffic reporter, was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center, where she died. Pilot Bill Pate was taken to the trauma unit at Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
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