Helicopter, plane collided into Hudson River: one dead, one black box found

A sightseeing helicopter collided with a small plane on Saturday and both crashed into the Hudson River near lower Manhattan, police reported.

Nine passengers--three in the plane and six in the helicopter were involved. One has already been confirmed dead.

A black box from one of the aircraft was located, and is being held on Frank Sinatra Pier in New Jersey, according to police.

The small plane, heading from Teterboro Airport to Ocean City, NJ, collided with the tourist helicopter ,which just took off from the west side of Manhattan at noon (1600 GMT).

The weather around the time of the accident was reported clear and mild. Eight police divers are in the Hudson searching for other victims.

The small plane was a 1976 piper. It lost contact with the ground over the river between the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels shortly after takeoff, sources said.

The helicopter, which belonged to the Liberty Helicopter Tours, took off from Pier 30 and also lost contact.

I see this puff of white smoke and I see the helicopter's blade fly off and then nosedives into the water, said David Reynolds, 42, who saw the crash from Manhattan. It was incredible. It was scary.

In January, a US Airways jet with more than 150 people on board crashed into the frigid Hudson River off Manhattan after apparently hitting a flock of geese. All aboard survived.