Two Rescued After Small Plane Crashes In Hudson River Near Yonkers
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Authorities in New York say two people have been rescued from a small plane that went down into the Hudson River off Yonkers.
Yonkers police said that a 39-year-old New Jersey woman and her passenger a 43-year-old man, were the only two people aboard the plane, a single engine Piper PA-32, which crashed and sank early Sunday evening.
The pair left the Trenton/Robbinsville airport and were flying under visual flight rules and contact with air traffic control when the plane went down.
The pilot called a mayday before crashing near the marina off JFK Memorial Drive, the first calls came in around 5:30.
Yonkers police and the marina launched boats to look for survivors.Authorities told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman that they spotted a man and a woman in life jackets floating down stream in the icy water.
2 Rescued After Small Plan Crashes In Hudson River
"We could hear them calling for help trying to head them off. They were going southbound at a pretty good clip," said Yonkers Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Fitzpatrick.
One of the first to respond was an off duty Yonkers police officer.
"As quickly as possible because you worry about hypothermia setting in, and their medical condition," officer Dan Higgins told CBS 2's Dave Carlin.
The plane's two occupants were pulled from the water and taken to Jacobi Medical Center in stable condition.
The plane is registered to a man in Manalapan, he told CBS 2 that he sold the plane three days ago. He would not reveal the name of the plane's new owner, authorities said that it could be days or weeks before they are able to determine the cause of the crash.
No other information was immediately available.
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