(Which, coincidentally, contains my favorite line of the day.)

Fair use and blah blah blah.....

Sunday January 07 01:27 PM EST
Plane Said Crashed Just Flying Low

NEW YORK (AP) - A small plane reported to have crashed into the Hudson River was actually just flying low on a government wildlife survey, and its pilot was alive and well and still on the job Sunday, aviation officials said.

Police rushed divers to the river Friday after two witnesses crossing the high George Washington Bridge reported seeing a single-engine, high-wing aircraft with a blue stripe plunge into the water near the span. The search was expanded down river into New York Harbor, but no debris was ever found.

The plane belongs to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and at the time the witnesses thought they saw a crash the pilot was flying at about 100 feet above the water, said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilot was ``on a special project, making duck observations. He was looking for ducks, then he flew off,'' Peters said. ``Thank you for not laughing.''

He said the pilot contacted an FAA flight service station in Burlington, Vt., on Sunday and was told of an FAA alert apparently referring to his plane.

Peters said the pilot, whose name he did not release, was in upstate New York continuing his wildlife observation mission near the Vermont state line.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001