Vintage plane crashes in NY river

A fire department boat searches the Hudson River. Photo: Reuters
A fire department boat searches the Hudson River. Photo: Reuters

A body has been recovered after a World War 2-era plane crashed into  New York City's Hudson River off Manhattan,  authorities say.

New Jersey State Police Sergeant Jeff Flynn said the plane went down off Manhattan's West 79th Street, a few kilometres south of the George Washington Bridge, about 7.30pm (local time) on Friday.

Police said they had recovered a body from inside the plane and believe it was the pilot, but could not confirm this.

Flynn initially said the plane's sole occupant, a man, was rescued from the river and transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.

The agency later said on its Twitter account however that there were conflicting reports from the scene and they could no longer confirm the swimmer in the water was the 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, New York.

Flynn said the plane was in the area because of Fleet Week, a week-long celebration of the US military's seafaring service members. The other two aircraft safely returned to the airport.

An investigation has been launched into what caused the crash.

A large police and fire department presence was visible at the makeshift rescue headquarters at the 79th Street Boat Basin, where diners at a nearby restaurant looked on at the operations.

Roughly a half dozen police and fire rescue boats adorned with flashing blue lights trawled the river into Friday night as authorities continued the search. 

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