Jane Dornacker

Jane Dornacker (October 1, 1947 – October 22, 1986) was an American rock musician, actress, and comedienne turned traffic reporter. In 1986, while working for WNBC 660 AM Radio in New York City (which became WFAN in 1988), she was aboard during two unrelated crashes of the helicopters leased to WNBC. She survived the first crash, but was killed in the second crash into the Hudson River, which occurred as she was in the middle of a live traffic re... more

Jane Dornacker (October 1, 1947 – October 22, 1986) was an American rock musician, actress, and comedienne turned traffic reporter. In 1986, while working for WNBC 660 AM Radio in New York City (which became WFAN in 1988), she was aboard during two unrelated crashes of the helicopters leased to WNBC. She survived the first crash, but was killed in the second crash into the Hudson River, which occurred as she was in the middle of a live traffic report. Her death came shortly after that of her husband, Bob Knickerbocker, orphaning their 16-year-old daughter. The NTSB investigation determined the cause of the fatal crash to have been use of improper parts and poor maintenance on the part of Spectrum Helicopters of Ridgefield Park, N.J. Jane was the tall lead singer (Leila), keyboardist, and songwriter of the 1970s/1980s San Francisco "tack" rock group Leila And The Snakes. Pearl Gates and Pamela Wood provided supporting vocals. Their repertoire included "Rock And Roll Weirdos," "Pyramid... less