2009 Hudson River mid-air collision 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 14th Street in Manhattan, 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
South African Airways from Boeing, the rest from other parties. The 737s were to be deployed on short-haul routes, replacing Airbus A300s and A320s. The 737 order was followed by an Airbus order in 2002. Under CEO Andre Viljoen, South African Airways requested Airbus to overhaul its fleet at a cost of US$3.5 billion in March 2002, taking advantage of a slump in the order books of both Boeing and Airbus. The airline industry was still staggering after the September 11 attacks in the USA, which led to new aircraft orders either being deferred, or cancelled altogether. SAA was in a buyers' market