FAA releases audio in Hudson River plane-copter crash

The air traffic controller who handled the small plane that collided with a helicopter over the Hudson River in August talked with a female airport worker about a dead cat just before the crash, according to audio recordings released by the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday.

The crash killed nine people - three on the small plane and six aboard a tourist helicopter - on Aug. 8. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, which involved a Piper A-32 plane and a Liberty Tours helicopter. Transcripts of the recordings have been available since Aug. 19.

The audio was posted Thursday on the FAA's Web site (tinyurl.com/crash-audio-mp3), allowing the public to hear the Teterboro controller and an airport operations worker laughing about a dead cat the woman had removed from an airport taxiway.

Operations: "Oh my God, it was really bad."

Controller: "Did it smell?"

Operations: "It was disgusting."

Crash investigators have focused part of their investigation on the controller's telephone conversation, which included a joke about barbecuing the dead cat.

Also on the audio recorder were other controllers referring to the controller who handled the Piper as "Carlyle." Sources have identified the controller as Carlyle Dwayne Turner, 38, of Lake Grove.

After the crash, according to the audio recorders, the controller states that he would notify "Dennis" regarding any paperwork required as a result of the collision. Sources identified the controller's supervisor as Dennis Moore, 55, of North Brunswick, N.J.

An FAA spokesman declined to comment on the employees' work status.