Pilot, 2 Passengers Survive Emergency Landing On Long Island Lawn
VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Three people survived an emergency landing Sunday on Long Island.
The plane landed on the front lawn of a home in Valley Stream.
A pilot and two passengers were on board the Cessna 172 aircraft when it went down shortly after 10 p.m. on Clarendon Road.
The plane came to a stop nose-down, tangled in power lines, which left the neighborhood in the dark.
The plane became entangled in power lines and hovered over the sidewalk.
"When I opened the door I saw a plane hanging there, and I see guys coming out, jumping out like crazy," said homeowner Guy Ismael.
"I heard a giant crash," said son Guivan Ismael. "The electricity went out."
Around the block, people were roused by the sudden noise.
"I was sleeping and I heard a big bang. I looked out the window, and it's a plane," said neighbor Rondell Montoute.
The plane came down at the house right next door to Montoute's.
"I saw the people struggling to take their seat belt off to get out. They ran out," he said.
"Just heard a bang and the lights went out," resident Vinnie Accardi told CBS2.
"Of course naturally I was really scared," said resident Deanna Young. "We all ran outside and there was guy across the street screaming, 'that's a plane, there's a plane on our block,' and I was just like, 'what?'"
Residents said they were shocked to see the pilot and passengers make it out mostly unscathed. One suffered a sprained finger.
Kevin Phanord-Alexis, a neighbor who works as a nurse, immediately went over to help, reported CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis.
"They just look like they finished running a marathon. Their hearts seem to be racing," he said. "I told them 'God is definitely on your side. If anything, when get a chance tomorrow, go play the lotto because you're definitely lucky."
"That's insane to me," Young said. "There's these guys sitting on the curb, looking completely shook and wrecked, and they seemed to not have any scratches on them. So we're thinking, OK they're alright. I find out they crawled out of the plane that's suspended by power lines in the air."
The pilot has been identified as 27-year-old Dongil Kim, of Flushing, and his passengers were identified as Jumwoo Jung and Hongjoo Na, both in their 20s.
Authorities said the Cessna 172 was rented from Danny Waizman flight school at Republic Airport in Farmingdale.
MORE: Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing In Valley Stream Neighborhood
The plane flew to Niagra and was on its way back when it missed the runway at Republic four times. Police said it was redirected to John F. Kennedy International Airport, where it missed that runway twice.
"As they came around, they ran out of fuel, they caught the rooftop of the church," said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. "The wires prevented the plane from actually striking the ground. It hung it up about one foot from hitting the ground."
About 200 homes lost power, but the houses and residents were all OK.
"How it missed the houses, who knows," Accardi said.
The Federal Aviation Administration was called to investigate the landing. It's believed fog may have been a factor.
"When you hear about a plane accident, you automatically go into fear of what it could be, could it be a terrorist, what could have happened?" said Tenagh Bryant.
No houses were damaged, nobody else was hurt, and as neighbors watched the plane get picked up off the wires, they're still in disbelief with the result.
"It's amazing. It's a plane, you know?" said Montoute.
"When you hear stories like this, you don't hear a good outcome from it. So these guys are blessed," said Phanord-Alexis.
