Small jet crashes into Hudson upstate

KINGSTON, N.Y. - The pilot of a privately owned vintage military jet that crashed into the Hudson River on Saturday was missing and believed to be dead, authorities said.

The accident happened about 1:30 p.m. on an ice-covered stretch of the Hudson near the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge as the British-made BAC 167 Strikemaster apparently attempted to land at an airport in Kingston. The bridge is midway between New York City and Albany.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker said the aircraft was partly submerged after the crash and the pilot had not been found.

The Poughkeepsie Journal said State Police identified the pilot as Dr. Michael Faraldi, 38, of upstate Germantown. A Rhinebeck podiatrist, he was alone aboard the plane.

The jet was headed to Kingston-Ulster Airport from an airfield in Johnstown, Pa., Baker said. It made a low pass over the airstrip before hitting the river.

There was no immediate word on whether the pilot reported any problems.

The 1969 jet was a training and light attack aircraft used by defense forces in the Middle East, Africa, South America and elsewhere. It was owned by Dragon Aviation of Wilmington, Del., which flies fighter jets in air shows all over the country.