WASHINGTON – The air traffic controller responsible for handling the airplane involved in Saturday’s fatal midair collision with a helicopter over the Hudson River was put on administrative leave Thursday after investigators said he was involved in “apparently inappropriate conversations on the telephone at the time of the accident.”

 

The crash killed all nine people aboard both aircraft, including three people from a Pennsylvania family on the plane and five Italian tourists and a pilot on the helicopter. The collision, in broad daylight on a clear weekend afternoon, has led some officials to call for greater regulation of the busy airspace surrounding the Manhattan and New Jersey waterfronts.

The FAA said in a statement Thursday that disciplinary proceedings have begun against the controller and his supervisor, who was not present in the building as required.

“While we have no reason to believe at this time that these actions contributed to the accident, this kind of conduct is unacceptable, and we have placed the employees on administrative leave ” the FAA said, adding that the agency is working with the National Transportation Safety Board in investigating the crash.

The accident was   caught on video by an Italian tourist who was practicing with a new camera. It was aired Thursday on “NBC Nightly News.”

The video shows the plane climbing and turning slightly before its wing clips the helicopter’s rotor blades. The plane can be seen overturning and falling toward the water between New York and New Jersey.

Source: NBC Nightly News