Vintage plane fished out of Hudson after fatal crash

A World War II-era plane that plunged into the Hudson River off Manhattan in a fatal Memorial Day weekend crash was fished out of the river Saturday, as more details of the tragedy emerged.

The vintage aircraft was flying over the river on the west side of Manhattan island between New York and New Jersey around 7:30 p.m. Friday when it crashed.

Divers recovered the body of the pilot William Gordon, 56, of Key West, Fla., from the wreckage around 10:45 p.m. Friday, according to the New York Police Department.

Gordon was a veteran air show pilot with more than 25 years of experience, according to promotional material for a Key West air show last month. The website for the April air show says Gordon was an “aerobatic competency evaluator” who certified performers in low-level aerobatics.

The plane was a P-47 Thunderbolt celebrating its 75th anniversary. The American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale, N.Y., marked the milestone by placing Thunder fighter planes from 1941 through 2016 on display, according to its website.

Scott Clyman, flight operations pilot for the American Airpower Museum, called Gordon “an extraordinary pilot who understood the powerful message our aircraft represent in telling the story of American courage and valor.”

Hunter College student Siqi Li saw smoke spewing from the plane and thought it was doing a trick.

“It made kind of a U-turn, and then there was a stream of smoke coming from it,” Li told the New York Daily News. “It was tilting down toward the water. I thought they were doing some sort of trick. I didn’t realize it at first, but it was a plane crash.”

The plane was among three that departed from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, on Long Island, just east of New York City. The other two aircraft returned to the airport and landed safely.

Clyman said in a statement that, “The FAA will determine the reason for the inflight failure but we know this much. Bill was a nationally respected pilot and we were lucky to call him one of our own.”

Contributing: Associated Press