Teterboro controller at time of midair Hudson crash was discussing cat BBQ

HORROR OVER THE HUDSON: An air traffic controller was joking on the phone about barbecuing a dead cat moments before the mid-air Hudson River crash between a small plane and a tour helicopter earlier this month that killed nine people.

Jerry DeMarco

08/20/2009 12:40 a.m.

The controller at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey was talking to someone who works at the airport’s operations center at the same time he was guiding the single-engine Piper and other aircraft the morning of Aug. 8, transcripts obtained by The Associated Press show.

“We got plenty of gas in the grill?” the controller asked. “Fire up the cat.”

Seconds before the accident, the controller uttered a curse word and ended the call.

Italian authorities wanted an investigation into why the two craft collided. They’re certainly getting one now.

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