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Plane wreckage pulled from Hudson

The wreckage of a helicopter is examined by the FBI and OCEM three days after that same Liberty Tours Helicopter and a small plane collided in the air over the Hudson River between Hoboken New Jersey and Manhattan on August 11, 2009. UPI/John Angelillo.
1 of 3 | The wreckage of a helicopter is examined by the FBI and OCEM three days after that same Liberty Tours Helicopter and a small plane collided in the air over the Hudson River between Hoboken New Jersey and Manhattan on August 11, 2009. UPI/John Angelillo. | License Photo

NEW YORK, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The wreckage of a small plane that collided with a helicopter was pulled out of the Hudson River in New York Tuesday, officials said.

The plane was pulled out of the water at about 5:20 p.m. EDT and placed on the deck of an Army Corp of Engineers vessel, The New York Times reported.

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Searchers have recovered the bodies of all nine people who died Saturday when the plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter. Five of the victims were Italian tourists in the helicopter.

The plane clipped the helicopter, sending both aircraft into the river. The plane, a Piper Saratoga PA-32, was found lying on its side at the bottom of the river Monday.

The collision has led to calls for more restrictions on use of airspace around Manhattan.

Liberty Helicopters, which operated the aircraft involved in Saturday's collision, resumed tours Tuesday morning. Tourists lined up early for the sightseeing flights as divers were still searching for wreckage from the crash, the New York Daily News reported.

Jan Veldman, 45, of the Netherlands, told the newspaper he was not afraid to take the helicopter tour with his 11-year-old son.

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"The only way to see New York City is from above," he said. "Besides, I don't think there is a safer day to fly over the Hudson."

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