-Caveat Lector- http://www.nypostonline.com/news/regionalnews/20719.htm New York Post | 8 Jan. 2001 FOWL' PLAY MADE PAIR THINK PLANE WENT DOWN By LARRY CELONA and WILLIAM NEUMAN The search for a small plane that two New Jersey women thought they saw crash into the Hudson River turned out yesterday to be a wild-goose chase. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pilot came forward to say he'd been flying low over the river - counting ducks and other waterfowl - at 8:30 a.m. Friday, the same time the women reported the supposed crash. His plane - a Partenabia Navion P68 Observer - matched the description of the white-and-blue aircraft the women told cops they'd seen flying over the George Washington Bridge before dropping into the river. The pilot, identified by police as Mark Konoff, told officials he flew over the bridge and then came in low over the water to conduct his survey. Konoff was unaware of the search-and-rescue operation until he learned of an FAA crash alert yesterday morning - and realized the description of the plane and the flight path matched his own. The pilot "flew over the George Washington Bridge and then descended over the Hudson at an altitude of about 100 feet," said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. "He was looking for ducks, then he flew off." At the same time, Leigh Russo, a human-resources executive from Dumont, N.J., was driving across the bridge and used her cell phone to call 911 - telling cops that she and a friend saw the plane go into the water. Police divers began searching the river immediately. Konoff learned of the crash alert when he called the Federal Aviation Administration to file a flight plan for the area around Albany, Syracuse and Watertown in upstate New York - where he was counting more ducks yesterday. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Craig Rieben described Konoff's work as "routine." He said the pilot would also have filed a flight plan with the FAA prior to his Hudson River trip, although it might not have been specific enough for officials to connect his aircraft to the crash report any earlier. "It's unfortunate that somebody thought we went down," Rieben said. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
