Pilot Bill Gordon, former member of the Iron Eagles Aerobatic Team, has died after the WWII-era P-47 Thunderbolt he was piloting crash landed in the Hudson River near New York City. The aircraft was one of three participating in a photo flight near the city and Statue of Liberty on Friday evening to promote this weekend’s airshow at nearby Jones Beach. It came down just a couple of miles from the George Washington bridge after suspected mechanical trouble. The aircraft, “Jacky’s Revenge”, is owned by the American Airpower Museum on Long Island not far outside the city. The airshow will continue as planned this weekend.
Adding to the tragedy were initial reports that the pilot was recovered safely and taken to the hospital. These reports were later corrected to state that the pilot was unaccounted for. His body was found in the wreckage by divers later that night. There is no word yet on what will happen to the aircraft, but the NTSB will be investigating the crash.
Our thoughts are with Bill’s family and friends.
Dale small
Damn … Prayers to the family but i will say i can only hope to ck out this way ……
Doc Holliday
RIP…..he died doing something he loved. I hope all can be that lucky…
pbug56
For whatever reason after ditching the pilot couldn’t get out of the cockpit. Very sad. I saw the plane days before the crash in the hangar at the museum. The NTSB report says catastrophic engine failure. Maybe caused by the supercharger, maybe not. Supposedly the insurance company still has the plane, which itself, other than the engine, was mostly intact, so maybe someday it will end up in a museum display. Apparently AAM got an insurance settlement which probably helped them buy a P51D recently.