The aircraft were in an area known as the "Hudson River VFR Corridor", which extends from the surface of the river to altitudes of 800 to 1,500 feet (240 to 460 m) at various locations along the Hudson River in the immediate area of New York City. Within this corridor, aircraft operate under visual flight rules, under which the responsibility to see and avoid other air traffic rests with the individual pilots rather than with the air traffic controller.
Because of the heavy commercial air traffic into Newark, LaGuardia, and Kennedy airports, small aircraft are restricted from much of the airspace around the city. Many airplanes that need to transit the New York metro area use the VFR corridor as an alternative to going east of the city (over water) or west (toward Pennsylvania). The corridor is also heavily used by helicopter tour companies, which take passengers on sight-seeing tours of the New York skyline. Visual flight rules on the river corridors by Manhattan have been subject to considerable debate since the 2006 New York City plane crash, in which New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle crashed into an apartment building while flying using visual flight rules on the East River. This was the first aircraft collision over the Hudson River since 1976.
The collision, which occurred opposite Manhattan's 14th Street, was about 40 blocks south of where US Airways Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, with no loss of life, after the plane suffered a complete loss of thrust following a bird strike.
Image 8Paterson, sometimes known as Silk City, has become a prime destination for an internationally diverse pool of immigrants, with at least 52 distinct ethnic groups. (from New Jersey)
Image 17New Brunswick, nicknamed the Hub city and the Healthcare City, is a focus city for academia, healthcare, and culture in New Jersey. (from New Jersey)
Image 18Map of counties in New Jersey by racial plurality, per the 2020 census
Image 29Nassau Hall at Princeton University, an Ivy League university and one of the world's most prominent research institutions, served briefly as the U.S. Capitol in the 18th century. (from New Jersey)
Image 36The original provinces of West and East New Jersey are shown in yellow and green respectively. The Keith Line is shown in red, and the Coxe and Barclay Line is shown in orange. (from History of New Jersey)
Image 45Modern map which approximates the relative size and location of the settled areas of New Netherland and New Sweden. (from History of New Jersey)
Image 46Results of the 1910 gubernatorial election in New Jersey. Wilson won the counties in blue. (from History of New Jersey)
Image 47A heat map showing median income distribution in New Jersey by county (from New Jersey)
Image 51The Atlantic City boardwalk, as seen from Caesars Atlantic City, opened in 1870, as the world's first boardwalk. At 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) long, it is also the world's longest and busiest boardwalk. New Jersey is home to the world's highest concentration of boardwalks.