WNBC Traffic Helicopter Crash

[@tonygunn5638]

A brave lady to have survived going into the river on one copter then going back again. She had to make a living AND was no coward. Bless you Jane. You will be remembered for your courage in face of previous wreck and for your great work with the Tubes!!!. Peace forever.

[@cransongonzalo8286]

Haven't heard Huey Lewis and the News in such a morbid context since seeing "American Psycho"

[@JagiFrisbee]

Ahaha I know right

[@czikkanhardt4750]

Seriously. The song started playing, and I just thought, "What an oddly... "wrong" song to play at that point. It's almost careless. Too fun, after that.

[@Jared_Wignall]

Czikkan Hardt to be fair, nobody knew what had happened exactly. They were trying to figure out what happened while they played music.

[@James-2248]

What if she and the pilot could still hear the radio broadcast, but had no way of telling communicating with them. I would mean she would’ve had to hear the radio host wonder what happened to them as she drowned.

[@TheOusooner56]

I could’ve thought of better times to play “ It’s hip to be square “ than that.

[@ThePokeMasterN12]

the radio announcer knew something was up, you can hear it in his voice. He knew. He knew.

[@SpeccyHorace]

Nash Plays! Thanks. Thanks.

[@jamesball8519]

Shut up shut up

[@hopetogether]

I was listening the day this happened. I was just parking my car before a meeting. I was so upset, I locked my keys in the car... and it was still running. I loved Jane, she was fun to listen to, God bless her. She had been involved in another helicopter crash earlier that same year where they ditched in the Hackensack River. I remember her talking about her fear over getting back into a helicopter.

[@supadupahilton6848]

hopetogether Yeah, I remember that day too.

[@Thorum13]

Yes, praise god for not preventing this. Praise him.

[@richardm3773]

remember that day also...driving home from work....when I heard this...very sad

[@TheBluetoob]

I actually heard that live when I was 15 when we were crossing the GWB into N.J., cruising in my Brother's 77 Mustang II. Chilling to hear that again !

[@jbrian80]

Before the sating "Hit the water" you can hear the high pitch noise indicating the engine running high RPM.

[@Fastbreak5000]

The fear in her voice makes this video hard to listen to. Really sad.

[@haku8645]

You know, it's not the helicopter crash itself that makes this video so chilling. I think what resonates most with me is that at the moment she died, her 'death anthem' was Huey Lewis and the News. As she sat in a helicopter sinking into a river, her last words ever uttered having been cut off on live radio, they threw to 'Renegade' to distract the audience. It's a good song and all, but that's what strikes me most about this. Normal life carried on immediately

[@VaudevilleSchtick101]

One of the big ironies in this was Huey Lewis and Jane Dornacker were old friends; its actually fitting that a Huey Lewis song was played during the cut-away. RIP Jane....We all miss you!

[@dinkchow]

I was east bound on I-78 in a semi and listened as this unfolded, from Jane's plaintive cries to the studio crew being speechless. It is my 2nd most vivid audio memory from 40 years of truck driving, the 1st being the attempt on the life of Ronald Reagan.I can remember where I was when the Cincinnati traffic copter crashed, and when I heard that John Lennon had been murdered.

[@timmy841212]

That high pitched sound the engine makes... it was nosediving.

[@foxglovelove]

i can't listen to this, but i wanted to say i was a friend and colleague of jane's at wnbc radio and i think of her quite a bit for someone who's been gone for so long. :) she is definitely an ascended being to me and she has saved my life more than once in this lifetime - including in flash flood in which my car went underwater. goddess bless her. she was an amazing human being and an inspiration to me in my career and life. she would just "go for it" and i try to approach life the same way.

[@cultfilmfreakreviews]

such fear in her voice at the end, so sad. i love her as the uptight nurse in THE RIGHT STUFF.

[@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren]

what made this even sadder is she survived another helicopter crash in Brooklyn but not this one. her husband died shortly after this too which made their Daughter orphaned. RIP Jane dornacker

[@FreedomForce100]

Thunderbolt 1000 Siren Productions her husband had died shortly before.

[@tedbundy3729]

How did he die?

[@hbdragon88]

@@tedbundy3729heart attack in July 1986, if Wikipedia is correct.

[@DianeDeards]

Loved Leila and the Snakes!! I went to the Keystone Berkeley shows in the early 80's. I still have a b&w poster from one of the shows. They were so much fun to watch and listen to. The costumes and inuendo's. I miss Pearl Gates and her hula hoop!! They were an awesome band. The first San Francisco band I ever saw. Here's to you, Jane Dornacker.

[@ShyGuy83]

It's always absolutely crazy when a news reporter becomes the news.

[@akashalovelight]

I also Knew Jane and think of her often. I was living on Maui and had just bought a new stereo TV and woke up hearing Janes voice . I immediately called the radio station in Honolulu and asked them not to keep playing it. It was tragic. I didnt even know she had gone to NY. She was an incredibly funny and talented woman.

[@ryan9570]

I worked for CBS at WEEI in Boston during the mid-1970s. I had volunteered to be a fill-in 'copter traffic reporter between Christmas and New Year's but someone with more seniority got the assignment. on the morning of December 27, 1977, the 'copter was in mid-air when apparently the carburetor iced up. it lost power and crashed through the roof of an apartment building just off the Southeast Expressway in Quincy, Mass. the pilot and traffic reporter were killed instantly. every year on December 27 since then, I get a bad case of survivor's guilt. I would rather have a job emptying bedpans in a nursing home than ever doing traffic reporting in any type of aircraft.

[@joe35lok]

Shit happens in every job buddy. By the way, it was like yesterday (December 27)...I hope you are ok.

[@richardwright8189]

Robert Cohen I remember that accident in Boston. Mt family were living in Mass at the time. I was just a kid but remember the reporter.

[@094340]

I was coming home from work on rt. 80 westbound in Denville. I was listening to this as it happened. Creepy feeling hearing it again.

[@whitiscool1]

man this video is just sad... it's sad because they don't know it yet. really heartbreaking when he says something like "hope nothings wrong, we're gonna say a little prayer"

[@radcam69]

Sad when you listen to the initial response from the DJ upon realizing something is wrong. RIP.

[@ClassicTVLover]

I remember this quite vividly as I was working at a local radio station at the time. The helicopter was previously in use at WTNH-TV in New Haven Connecticut prior to being placed into service as "The 'N' Copter"

[@ShalishaAlston]

I remember listening to this live. I thought, "Omg, did they just crash?" I knew it was no good. I felt bad.

[@rikkl]

I remember hearing this. I don't know if I heard it when it happened, but they kept repeating it on WCBS the entire day.

[@Mairo4111]

Horrific air accident. Amazing how she faced death, and she was cool in The Right Stuff as a nurse. She was also born in my State of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Sorry for an early road to tragedy.

[@TheMedicOfficer]

What the hell does New Mexico have to do with it.

[@Mairo4111]

TheMedicalOfficer Just that she was from our State and we appreciated her work here in Albuquerque. That's all.

[@charlesferdinand422]

MrElpenguino Lol, Uhhh! I'm shaking on my boots!

[@crashburn3292]

Mark Marquez Holy shit! I never knew that! That WAS Jane! In "All the Right Stuff" I never realized that was Jane as the nurse! Thank you for that info. I'm going to watch it tonight.

[@mowowie]

FU

[@soylentteal]

Her husband, Bob Knickerbocker, had died a few months earlier. He was perhaps best known as “Ham Salad,” in “Hardware Wars,” the hilarious 1978 spoof of “Star Wars.”

[@gregorycauthen7041]

Wow, you wouldn't think something like that was real until you get something like this.

[@CXAlexander1]

You, sir or madam, may have uttered the wisest, most intelligent commetary in all of You-Tube-dom. Salud.

[@wmbrown6]

In a way, this would prove to be a curse on the station, because two years to the month later - on Oct. 7, 1988 - WNBC itself died, replaced on the 660 dial by SportsRadio WFAN.

[@klmullins65]

wow, I just watched "The Right Stuff" the other night, and was fascinated by the statuesque nurse with the deep sexy voice!! God Bless her...I'm sorry to hear what happened to her

[@PuzzlingEvidenceTV]

When I was on tour with the Tubes once (late 70's), Jane and Pearly Gates and I talked about dreams, while on the tour bus. She related a recurring one about flying, then crashing into water. She said she hated flying. Really was too scared of it, and wondered why this dream kept returning.

[@TheReaperOfTheRebels]

Shit man you can tell the announcer knew she died. you can hear him trying to keep himself self composed

[@detoth67]

I'm watching Right Stuff on Netflix right now. I did some research on her because she was BEAUTIFUL! I'm sorry to know this.

[@barefooboy17]

I remember she was the traffic reporter for KFRC in San Francisco before moving to New York. She used to say "Don't forget to fasten your KFRC seat belts! RIP Jane.

[@BLAKPEARL69]

No bull I remember hearing this story before. They said that she was in an Helicopter accident but she survived because the Helicopter hit the water. That's why she said " Hit the water, Hit the water". Aww man I got knots in my stomach hearing this again. I was 10 and my grandma just died. I swear I remember it like yesterday. I was living in Staten Island with my family at the time.

[@toonguy06]

rest in peace Jane. It was 31 years ago today that this happened. I remember when she did the traffic on KFRC with Dr. Don Rose back in the early 80's

[@MsLark3]

I saw Leila & the Snakes perform in San Francisco. Later, met her and her daughter in Berkeley at a party.

[@dylaninpieces2]

RIP Jane Dornacker

[@njirishmikey]

Jane was Cool, I remember when she did rock reporting. She interviewed Brent Mydland a couple years earlier New Years Eve 1984 and she asked him " Brent do you plan on playing with the Dead until you are Dead & Grateful" Ominous I'd say.... RIP Jane & Brent............

[@isandrich]

RIP Jane, 610am KFRC and Dr Donald D Rose..I grew up listening to them.

[@xtoc422]

Very sad recollection of her passing away. I was in high school and I still have an autograph of her from a KFRC promotional 5x7 stack of pictures she brought to a shopping mall. She even kissed it and left her lips impressed on the photo. I remember her voice on the air as if it were yesterday.

[@jayyeetmoto711]

Engine oversped and seized after the rotor sprag clutch failed. Improper part for the heli. Major MAJOR shortcomings on maintenance

[@WildAngelJoy]

@MrButterwrench Oh...and in Jane's case, a military part for the helicopter not meant for civilian use was the killer and not Huey. Before you ask, I do love HLN's music but find it in poor taste to say "Huey" + helicopters kill...these were two tragic accidents and the band was very upset about Bill's death, especially as they didn't feel it was safe for him to fly in the bad weather.

[@terbentur2943]

Damn... I just found out this happend at the day of my birth! Octobre 22th 1986 :/

[@bryans2591]

Lukas T me too!

[@sirdarklust]

This was sad. I was listening when this happened and you just knew it was tragic even before you found out what actually happened. Joey Reynolds was the replacement for Howard Stern (and did so poorly he was replaced by standard music programming soon after). Too bad this is the one thing people will remember Reynold's show for.

[@Legend813a]

Sure it is. originally it was a mp3 file then i dumped in movie maker along with a still picture, converted it to wmv then uploaded it and then youtube converted into a FLash Video file(.FLV). Therefore... Yes it is a video.

[@cadburyenglishman]

Jane was funny! She she have stayed in San Francisco, she was only 39 when she passed. I took a helicopter ride as a kid over SF bay, it was quite fun. But I also met a navy jet fighter pilot who sweared he never get into a helicopter because of how unsafe they are. I found his comment rather intriguing.

[@GALuigi]

My friends think this is funny. Should I ditch them?

[@chronosmusics]

+GA. Luigi Nah.

[@GALuigi]

popeye3234 wtf?

[@SpeccyHorace]

GA. Luigi Maybe you should make your own decisions?

[@Godzilla-se8in]

*Arsenius Vulpes* Did you just unironically bring up IQ to categorize intelligence? Wow . . . Anyway, I laughed at this too. Not at her screaming in fear, or even during the video. I laughed after it ended and I realized they'd played "Hip To Be Square" of all things. It's still sad that she died, however. But don't attribute someone finding some amount of humor in it to "low IQ". It makes _you_ sound like a fucking idiot.

[@CarriesNo1fan]

Nope, a simple wiki search will tell you that HTBS was released as the second single from Fore! in 1986

[@DropTop013]

Hey muttville1...cut and paste my eye. I was listening to that traffic report in my car on my way home from work that day. It was bumper to bumper on the L.I.E, and the guy next to me was listening too. When the radio went silent, we both looked at each other. It was like we knew something bad happened....Jane had a helicopter crash a while before the one that killed her.

[@josemezatorrez]

So sad,even more tragic for the 16 year old daughter Naomi that lost both her her mother and father almost at the same time.

[@agustaofringe8819]

Does anyone know if they actually hit the water ?

[@PooKneader]

You can hear it hitting the water with a huge 'splash' at the end of her speech.

[@genericname34]

yeah, they hit the Hudson. They fished her body out 2 hours later

[@thetwistedsamurai]

KampferXeon Was she trapped? How did the pilot make it but she didn't?

[@4wheelerDJ]

It was no more than 15 minutes; Jane was in cardiac arrest when they got her out, they revived her with CPR but her heart stopped again in the ambulance.

[@njcaveexplorer]

@everybodyhasone Jane was in a total of 5 crashes or hard landings that all involved landing in water. one time at west 30th street heliport a gust of wind push there copter while landing toward a parked one and the pilot opted for the water. one time in the meadowlands.one time at takeoff from the home base of the copter. the Hackensack River she swam back from. then the one next to the intrepid. the meadowlands was before my time employed

[@4wheelerDJ]

OMG...that's the definition of 'jinxed'.

[@Mehwter]

Saying HIT THE WATER because it's more survivable than hitting a city.

[@thebigl156]

So very sad. I remember the day this happened and this audio was played on local news broadcast throughout the country. Jane was well known amongst new affiliates and the on air incident was a painful story to report.

[@thunderstruck665]

WNBC should seriously barred from owning and operating choppers ever again. Everytime something like this happens, it's ALWAYS WNBC. Over the course of twenty years, they've lost one radio and two TV choppers as a result of faulty maintenance. It has NEVER happened to any other New York TV or radio station.

[@4wheelerDJ]

WOW.

[@mrjonz]

shes the orig , don't touch me there, girl from the tubes , great voice

[@PaulGreen11]

God Bless you, Jane.

[@Thorum13]

Yep, he sure did...

[@OhNoObie]

Very disturbing material. May she RIP. I also agree that the Huey Lewis tune is very eerie...

[@darkshadow055]

Without Captions: (Sound of helicopter crash) With Captions: (Applause) How interesting

[@sideslick1024]

I'd just say wisest in the history of the internet.

[@gb.recordings]

this is so so sad i was 6 years old when this happened

[@haku8645]

I know he had no idea. In fact that's what I mean. Things just carried on. And you're right, as soon as I posted that I remembered that the song is called 'Hip To Be Square'. Actually one of my favourite songs of 1986

[@ancalites]

I have no idea what the extent of her injuries were, but she and the pilot were trapped in the helicopter wreckage at the bottom of the Hudson for about 15 minutes, so drowning would be my guess. Apparently the pilot survived, though, so who knows.

[@comgeek24]

I first heard this on another website with flight data recordings of actual plane crashes (yes, it was all very horrific to hear). I cant imagine what it was like for the audience listening in that day.

[@LRS905]

Jane Dornacker...I remember her from her role in "The Right Stuff".

[@4wheelerDJ]

I remember her line: "I'd like to meet your wife....tomorrow." to Dennis Quaid's character (Gordon Cooper?) after he tried flirting with her. :D RIP, Jane

[@iCoffees]

Okay, so, uh, we're gonna play some music here I think. Y'know, find out what's going on with the helicopter. Heh.

[@telliwood]

I heard she was already in a helicopter crash that year while reporting traffic. How brave she was to go up again and have this happen. Heard she died on the way to the hospital.

[@puck30]

I was a kid then. It wasn't Fred Feldman, it was a 'fill-in' that day. I remember hearing Fred being interviewed on John Gambling's Morning show a few days later. I'm almost positive the fill-in's name was Frank. Fred did move on to be a manager of some sorts at 'Shadow Traffic'. Reynolds did not quit over this. His show was tanking big time. Then again, NBC was trying to replace Stern, anybody would have tanked. Irony? Reynolds does overnights on WOR these days.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Which of the ladies in the picture is Jane?

[@Quazi-Moto]

Chilling.

[@johannpatterson9439]

list 25 brought me here

[@mrsfun101]

I'd much rather hear any of Jane's traffic reports from her KFRC days. To this day I can't drive across the San Mateo Bridge without a goofy grin on my face.

[@GirlGeorgeTVshow]

HERES A VIDEO OF SONG "DRIVING" "PEARL HABOR & the EXPLOSIONS" FROM GIRL GEORGE'S TV SHOW JAN.22,1979

[@Thinkforyourselfofficial]

the most souless song ever

[@rosario508]

I'm here because The Right Stuff is on the Sundance channel right now.

[@DreamGyrl360]

That's so sad.

[@sdold]

It's just audio, with a still picture.

[@meajur]

My sentiments, exactly.

[@bwworld]

I remember when this happened but this is the first time I heard it. I do remember listening on WOR when another helicopter traffic reporter, Fred Feldman, died in a similar tragedy in the middle of a traffic report.

[@wmbrown6]

Not exactly. He stopped flying after suffering a heart attack in 1978, and remained deskbound to his death from another heart attack in 1986. He was a co-founder of Shadow Traffic.

[@DimmedDiamond]

The funny thing is that the reporter survived a previous crash into the river by the news helicopter. Fool me once...

[@Bobaklives]

Crazy. That must have been really weird to be on the air and wondering what happened...

[@velocity92c]

Wow, what a strange video. This reminds me of that other helicopter news crash that's on youtube. You can hear the guy in the other video scream as he dies, unfortunately. :(

[@sdold]

"Movie" means that it moves, so since it doesn't move, I hereby declare that it is not a movie. It's a stillie.

[@tapthatt2012]

sad. just watched the news story on an old tape i have from wpix. so sad.

[@Prisoner416]

Anyone have the original mp3?

[@61guitbox]

i realize it was 30 yrs ago but $325,000 ?...is that all a life was worth back then ? her daughter should've got at least a $1,000,000 settlement .

[@brandongerbig1643]

counting for inflation, $325,000.00 is worth about $936,094.66 in 2015 currency. so she did get close to a million dollars

[@Legend813a]

But Fred Feldman did not die in a aircraft crash. He died of a heart attack in 1996.

[@wmbrown6]

Funny, that was what I was saying.

[@WildAngelJoy]

@MrButterwrench Actually...the band was very concerned for Bill, his girlfriend and the pilot due to the weather change and asked them not to fly. Mario Cippolina offered Bill a ride in his limo and the GM of the Concord Pavilion also told Bill he should not fly but rent a car. I was supposed to beat the show but was sick, living in the area our lights flickered when the power line was hit..very creepy. Huey didn't kill anyone, flying in bad weather did.

[@rbrtgrdn]

How am I here?

[@1Captain23]

DJ smokey brought me here

[@1Captain23]

I came back again

[@oIiveblood]

we do be smoked out here

[@MisterRightAway]

The point is so you can drive an alternate route and avoid the jam up.

[@bwworld]

Hmmm. Then who am i thinking of? I know there was a WOR traffic reporter who died while doing a report. Or am I having an early senior moment?

[@njirishmikey]

Jane Dornacker interviews Brent Mydland of The Grateful Dead. 12-31-84 Search Brent Mydland short interview...

[@GirlGeorgeTVshow]

JANE IS THE TOP GIRL

[@brunoblivious]

I really have to stop reading the comment sections of these youtube videos. Based on the general level of idiocy exhibited here, I fear for the future of our species.

[@56BUICKRiviera]

Heartbreaking

[@sgtpepper1138]

yeah, they just save lives every day, sure there's risk involved, but there is with everything.

[@mrchopsticks3]

No, she drowned. It wasn't the impact that killed her.

[@oteehelicopter]

RIP...