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Police recover vintage plane that crashed into Hudson River

A boat searches for the wreckage of a vintage P-47 Thunderbolt airplane that crashed into the Hudson River on Friday evening. Credit: Reuters

Police have raised the wreckage of a vintage Second World War plane that crashed into the Hudson River on Friday.

The vintage P-47 thunderbolt aircraft went down off Manhattan's West 79th Street, a few miles south of the George Washington Bridge, between New York and New Jersey.

The plane was taking part in a promotion for the American Airpower Museum, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of the P-47 aircraft.

Scuba divers recovered the body of the 56-year-old pilot, William Gordon, about three hours after the crash.

Mr Gordon was a veteran air show pilot and an "aerobatic competency evaluator" who certified performers in acrobatics, with more than 25 years of experience, according to promotional material for the show.

It made kind of a U-turn, and then there was a stream of smoke coming from it.

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.

– Siqi Li, witness speaking to Daily News

The plane was one of three taking part in the celebrations. The other two returned to the airport and landed safely.

An investigation has been launched into the causes of the crash.