NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- An air traffic controller was joking with a woman about a dead cat just moments before a helicopter and small plane collided over the Hudson River in August , according to a recording released Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration . The wreckage of a plane that collided with a helicopter is lifted on August 11 from the Hudson River . There were no survivors from the August 8 crash , in which three people died aboard the Piper Saratoga PA-32 fixed-wing plane that collided with a helicopter carrying six people , five of them Italian tourists . The FAA in August confirmed the air traffic controller at New Jersey 's Teterboro airport , who initially handled the flight of the Piper before handing off to Newark controllers , had `` involved in apparently inappropriate conversations on the telephone at the time of the accident . '' The controller and his supervisor , who was not in the building as required , were suspended . `` While we have no reason to believe at this time that these actions contributed to the accident , this kind of conduct is unacceptable , and we have placed the employees on administrative leave and have begun disciplinary proceedings , '' FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said at the time . The recording , released for the first time Thursday , caught the air traffic controller at Teterboro airport having a giggly chat with the woman , suggesting she grill the dead cat she apparently found . A source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN the woman was the controller 's girlfriend . `` That thing was disgusting , '' she says , to which the controller responds , `` Chinese people do it , so why ca n't we ? '' The exchange , which lasts about six minutes , is interrupted by a controller at the Newark airport , who asks the Teterboro controller for help with air traffic . `` Hey , Teterboro ... would you switch that guy , maybe put him on a two-twenty heading to get away from that other traffic please ? '' the Newark controller is heard saying . The Teterboro controller seems to be juggling both conversations , telling to woman to `` hold on real quick '' while asking the Newark controller to repeat the request . `` Can you switch that ( Piper ) PA-32 ? '' the Newark controller said . Neither is able to communicate with the pilot of the Piper , with the Teterboro controller saying , `` He 's lost in the hertz . '' The conversation between the Teterboro controller and the woman continues as she mentions that it seems her friend is doing `` a lot of babysitting . '' Seconds later , the crash occurs with no survivors . The National Transportation Safety Board has said that before the accident , Teterboro controller had switched control of the Piper plane to Newark tower , which the pilot never contacted . Raymond Adams , head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association , is representing the Teterboro controller . He declined to comment Thursday , except to say that `` the FAA has previously stated that the conversation had no connection to the crash . '' The controller is still on paid administration leave pending further investing by the FAA , he added . The helicopter was taking the tourists on a 12-minute Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tour around New York , while the plane carrying three individuals was headed for Ocean City , New Jersey . Controllers lost contact with the plane at 11:53 a.m. as it flew at an altitude of about 1,100 feet . The FAA released the recording after a request from The Associated Press citing the Freedom of Information Act .
FAA has recording of air traffic controller just before fatal crash . On recording , controller joking with woman on phone about what to do with dead cat . FAA says : ` ` The kind of conduct is unacceptable '' No fatalities in China , crash of plane , small plane over China .