Traffic Copter Crash Is Heard on Radio

A radio station’s traffic helicopter crashed into the Hudson River Wednesday as the reporter aboard frantically screamed, “Hit the water!” in a live broadcast. The reporter and pilot were pulled from the helicopter in cardiac arrest, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Medical Service said, and rescuers worked at dockside to resuscitate them.

Reporter Jane Dornacker and pilot Bill Pate were hospitalized in critical condition. About 15 people who jumped in the water to try to rescue them were treated for exposure.

The WNBC helicopter crashed near the Intrepid, a permanently docked aircraft carrier and naval museum, a Fire Department spokesman said. Dornacker and another pilot were unharmed when a WNBC traffic helicopter crashed April 18 into the Hackensack River in New Jersey.