HUDSON Tragedy

Crash Victim Was Planning to Wed

Pilot planning marriage; tourists celebrating one.

The tragic helicopter-plane collision on the Hudson gets sadder, as the New York Daily News reports that the helicopter pilot, Jeremy Clarke, received his U.S. citizenship a month ago and that he was planning a wedding. The Italian tourists who died were the family and friends of Silvia Rigamonti, who came to New York to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary and survived because she backed out of the helicopter tour at the last minute due to cold feet. So why did the crash happen? “One of the main problems highlighted by Saturday's fatal collision between a small plane and sightseeing helicopter over the Hudson River was that the pilots didn't have to talk with air-traffic controllers because they were both flying below 1,100 feet,” according to the New York Post.