A 56-year-old Florida man been identified as the pilot who died when the P-47 Thunderbolt he was flying went into the Hudson River off Manhattan late Friday. William Gordon was flying the aircraft on a photo flight with two other aircraft promoting the American Airpower Museum’s celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Thunderbolt, which was used extensively by the U.S. Army Air Force in the Second World War. The museum, located at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, is hosting a major airshow marking the Memorial Day weekend and there was nothing on the organization’s website suggesting any interruption of those plans.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from the aircraft and hearing “sputtering” before the aircraft hit the water and immediately sank. Video shows a varying plume of spray moving laterally across the surface of the river. The pilot’s body was recovered by divers three hours after the crash and the aircraft was pulled to the surface Saturday afternoon.
