Mayor Bloomberg issued a statement on today's helicopter-plane collision over the Hudson. He called the crash something "we do not believe was survivable." Bloomberg's presser, an aviation expert's theory, and a supposed picture of the water impact, after the jump.

It appears that there were two passengers and a pilot on the plane, including one child. The helicopter was carrying five Italian tourists, and had just taken off when it was hit in the tail end by the plane.

Former CNN anchor Miles O'Brien has some interesting insight on what may caused the crash over at True/Slant. Basically: this kind of thing isn't a freak accident; the corridor is a hotbed of sketchy aviation traffic. Also, the pilot may or may not have seen the chopper due to the make of their plane, which was the same one JFK Jr. flew to his death.

One of the busiest spots in this busy corridor is right near the Heliport at 30th St. on a pier on the Manhattan side of the river. The tour choppers there come and go frequently. They take off, go straight across the river and then turn down to the south for a trip to the statue. The chopper involved in this collision was doing just that. The plane was flying south – unsure what speed or altitude.

But here is an important point: it was a Piper PA-32 – A Cherokee Six or Saratoga (the sort of plane John Kennedy Jr. flew to his demise). It is a low wing airplane with a rather long nose. In level flight, downward visibility for the pilot is not so good. So the ascending chopper might very well have been completely obscured by the wing and engine cowling.

Meanwhile, the chopper pilot might not have seen the plane either. You have to wonder if the plane pilot was issuing radio reports as he flew down the river. It is quite possible that each aircraft was in the other's "blind spot".

[Screengrab via Anthony De Rosa]