KINGSTON, N.Y. — A man was killed today when an aircraft went down in the Hudson River near Kingston, N.Y., according to New York State Police.
Police identified the victim as the plane’s pilot, 38-year-old Michael Faraldi of Germantown, N.Y.
A New York State Police helicopter, a Coast Guard cutter and the Ulster County Dive Team were on the scene. A staging area for the rescue was set up at Charles Rider Park in Kingston, which is about 91 miles north of New York City.
A source said the aircraft was a small private jet on a recreational flight. The make or model was not known.
Capt. P.J. Regan of the state police at Kingston said the plane came down more vertically than horizontally when it hit the ice and went through it at around 1:45pm ET. Divers from three units were at the scene, he said.
“We are in a race against nightfall,” Regan said, adding that the divers were battling strong currents in the icy water.
An eyewitness at the scene said the plane appeared to have gone through the ice in the river and some pieces of metal were sticking out of the water.