New York, NY — It is with great sadness that we report the loss of pilot Bill Gordon who was killed Friday evening in the crash of the American Airpower Museum’s P-47 Thunderbolt “Jacky’s Revenge”. The plane went down while on a photo run (along with the museum’s P-40 “The Jacky C.” and a photo plane) over the Hudson River in New York. The museum had planned to 75 years of Republic Aviation Fighter Aircraft produced at their Farmingdale, NY home.
According to police the aircraft suffered a possible mechanical failure at about 7:30 p.m. and crashed into the river near the Intrepid Museum at West 46th Street. Witnesses also stated that Bill tried valiantly to escape but was unable to do so prior the aircraft sinking. Gordon’s body was subsequently recovered by NYPD scuba divers at around 11 p.m.
Our thoughts and prayers go to the family and relatives of Bill Gordon and to all of our friends at the American Airpower Museum.