Small Plane Crashes In Hudson
2 people rescued from river
(AP) YONKERS Two people were pulled from the Hudson River Monday after their single-engine plane crashed near the Yonkers city pier, police said.
It appeared that the two people were the only ones aboard when the plane went down shortly before noon near Water and Grant streets, according to Yonkers Police Lt. Maureen Zadorozny.
The two people were pulled from the water by New York City police and Coast Guard divers who jumped into the river from hovering rescue helicopters, which then lifted the victims by basket and flew them to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.
According to Max Coyle, a Yonkers battalion fire chief, the two were conscious but suffering from hypothermia. Michael Heller, a Jacobi spokesman, said they were "under evaluation" to determine their condition. He did not identify them.
Jim Peters, spokesman for the FAA, said "the pilot radioed `mayday,' which was picked up by controllers in Westbury, Long Island. The pilot said he was going to go into the water, but he didn't give a location," Peters said.
He said the flight's place of origin and destination were not immedately known.
Coyle said his unit received a call from Westchester County fire control about a plane in the water about three miles north of the Bronx border. First responders "saw two people in the water, one clinging to wreckage and one swimming with the aid of a seat cushion," he said.
The rescue took about two to three minutes for the first person and several minutes for the second, Coyle said.
Two NYPD boats and one Coast Guard craft were at the scene.
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