NEWBURGH – A 31-year-old Long Island pilot and his 17-year-old student suffered only hyperthermia Tuesday night when they swam some 50 feet to the shore when the Cessna 172 landed on the icy Hudson River off Newburgh.
State Police Troop F BCI Captain Brad Natalizio said on Wednesday that the single-engine aircraft took off from Long Island McArthur Airport en route to New York Stewart International at Newburgh to conduct touch-and-go training.
When the plane experienced engine trouble, the flight instructor Liam Darcy of South Hampton, and his student from Locus Valley were instructed by the Stewart air traffic control tower to fly over the river where it landed south of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.
Both occupants were transported to Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital for treatment and released.
The plane is registered to American Airman, Inc., a fractional ownership company.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.
Natalizio said it was nothing short of a miracle that the two men were able to get to shore, by swimming in the icy water.
He credited the staff in the Stewart tower for guiding the plane close to the water’s edge.
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