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
US Airways Corporation, said in March that American was open to a merger. A Bloomberg News report dated March 23, 2012, stated that US Airways had been in talks with AMR's creditors about a takeover bid. On December 7, 2012, US Airways announced a merger proposal with American Airlines. The merger required approval from a bankruptcy judge, which was successful. The combined airline would keep the American Airlines name and would be based in American's hometown of Fort Worth. On February 14, 2013, US Airways Group and AMR Corporation announced that the two companies would merge to form the largest airline in