Pilot killed in vintage plane crash was airshow veteran

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — The pilot killed when a vintage World War II plane crashed in the Hudson River was the former chief pilot and chief mechanic at a New York aerodrome that stages air shows and offers plane rides.

Bill Gordon, 56, was found dead Friday after his single-seat P-47 Thunderbolt went down in the river between New York City and New Jersey.

The New York Police Department responded Friday to a plane in distress in the Hudson River, near the 79th Street Boat Basin, a police spokesman said. Emergency workers found a small, single-seat plane submerged in the water, the plane was secured and rescue divers began searching for the pilot.

Gordon, whose body was found about three hours after the crash, was active at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Red Hook, where he served as chief pilot and chief mechanic for years. He had been a resident of Ancramdale, though the NYPD said he lived in Key West, Fla.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

“He was a great guy,” said Michael DiGiacomio, a board member and museum president at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome.

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The P-47 crashed on a part of the river near where a US Airways commercial jet carrying 155 people splash-landed safely in 2009 in what became known as the Miracle on the Hudson.

As chief pilot at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, Gordon was in charge of other pilots and safety, DiGiacomio said. Gordon, who worked as a commercial pilot, was the Aerodrome's primary pilot for rides and participated in air shows.

Gordon's formal affiliation with the aerodrome ended several years ago, but he continued to volunteer.

"He was an amazing pilot, one of the best in the business," DiGiacomio said.

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 2-3 air show says Gordon was an "aerobatic competency evaluator" who certified performers to perform low-level aerobatics.

The tragedy occurred during a promotion for the American Airpower Museum, which is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the P-47 this weekend.

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."

"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," Clyman said in a statement.

A witness to the crash, 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 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 Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft was among three planes that had 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.

Museum spokesman Gary Lewi said the plane was kept at the museum and was taking part in an air show at nearby Jones Beach this weekend.

The P-47 Thunderbolts were the heaviest single-engine fighter planes used by Allied forces in World War II. They first went into service in 1942, with the 56th Fighter Group based on Long Island.

The one that crashed in the river flew periodically, including to other air shows, Lewi said.

Contributing: The Associated Press