Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Aviation Administration proposed firing an air traffic controller and supervisor on duty when a helicopter and airplane collided over the Hudson River in August, killing nine people.

The two are appealing the decision, and no final determination has been made, said Laura Brown, an FAA spokeswoman. Randy Babbitt, the agency’s administrator, told reporters on a conference call earlier today that they had been fired. The National Transportation Safety Board has said the controller was on a personal telephone call and his supervisor wasn’t in the building, as required, when the accident occurred.

Babbitt declined further comment because of the safety board’s continuing investigation.

The Aug. 8 incident involved a Piper PA-32R-300 single- engine plane carrying three people and a Eurocopter AS 350 BA, operated by Liberty Helicopter Tours of New York, with six aboard. The FAA said today that it finished changes in altitude requirements and flying rules for small aircraft over the Hudson in the region to reduce collision risks.

Babbitt said that “whether or not there had been an accident, the discipline would have been the same” for the controller and supervisor. “The rules violated were operating procedures we expect employees to follow, period,” he said.

Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 16, 2009 16:00 EST