A World War II-era plane crashed Friday in New York City’s Hudson River, and a body was recovered from inside the aircraft, authorities said. The aircraft went down off Manhattan’s West 79th Street, a few miles south of the George Washington Bridge, at around 7:30 p.m., New Jersey State Police Sgt. Jeff Flynn said.
The New York Police Department said it recovered a body from inside the plane and believes it was the pilot but could not confirm that. Flynn initially said the plane’s sole occupant, a male pilot, was rescued from the river and transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.
The agency later said on its Twitter account that there were conflicting reports from the scene and it could no longer confirm the swimmer in the water was the plane’s pilot. The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a vintage P-47 Thunderbolt and was one of three aircraft that took off from Republic Airport in Farmingdale
