Pilot in mid-air crash had wrong frequency

WASHINGTON - September 16, 2009 Nine people were killed in the Aug. 8 crash between the single-engine Piper and an air tour helicopter.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman told a congressional committee Wednesday that an air traffic controller gave the plane's pilot the radio frequency for Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, but the pilot read back the wrong frequency.

She said there is no indication the pilot was corrected and he never contacted Newark. Later attempts to contact the pilot were unsuccessful.

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