Just four years ago, everyone survived when a plane crashed into the Hudson River in New York in what is known as the "Miracle on the Hudson." Now it has happened again. Two people wee rescued after their small plane crashed into the icy waters of the Hudson.
A single-engine Piper PA-32 took off with a couple on board from Trenton-Robbinsville Airport in Robbinsville, New Jersey before it crashed into the Hudson River near Yonkers at around 5:30p.m. on Sunday, ABC reports.
The couple, a 43-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman were in the water for about 30 minutes as their plane submerged. Luckily they were both wearing life vested when the plane took the plunge and they were able to get out quickly.
An off-duty police officer and his 12-year-old son saw the event and took a boat out to rescue the couple.
"They were drifting pretty quick," rescuer Danny Higgins told ABC. "And if we didn't get out there quick enough, well, let's just say we're glad to get there quick."
"The lady was mumbling some stuff, I don't know what she was mumbling about," Danny Higgins, Jr., said. "They were both very stiff. They were numb, very cold."
The couple was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx to be treated for hypothermia. They were both in stable condition.
The cause of the crash is not clear, but the pilot was flying under visual flight rules, so he was not receiving air traffic control services.
According to FAA records show that the plane was registered to Dominick Lipariti, of Manalapan, N.J. but Lipariti claims it was sold to someone else.
This accident comes after a 2009 incident in which Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was able to safely land a US Airways flight on the Hudson River after it hit a flock of geese. All 155 people on board survived due to Sully's skills.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
