Traffic helicopter falls into river
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from October 1986.
Brought to you by
The WNBC radio helicopter crashed about 4:45 p.m. (2045 GMT) in the Hudson near the USS Intrepid Naval Museum, said John Mulligan, a Fire Department spokesman. The occupants were pulled from the helicopter in cardiac arrest, said Donna Osso, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Medical Service, and rescuers worked at dockside to resuscitate them.
Jane Dornacker, the traffic reporter, was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition. Pilot Bill Pate was taken to the trauma unit at Bellevue Hospital, also in critical condition.
About 15 people who jumped in the water to try to rescue them were treated for exposure.
It was the second time this year that Ms. Dornacker was aboard a WNBC traffic helicopter that crashed. On April 18, she and another pilot escaped unharmed when a helicopter crashed into the Hackensack River in New Jersey.
Ms. Dornacker was giving her regular rush-hour traffic report on the air Wednesday when the crash occurred.
"Heading to New Jersey, the outbound Lincoln Tunnel looks a lot better for you. In New Jersey ..." she said. Then she gasped and screamed, "hit the water."
