A small plane carrying two people crashed into the icy waters of the Hudson River near New York Stewart International Airport in Orange County on Monday.
The pilot told air traffic controllers he lost his engine shortly before landing in the river.
“I think I might have to put it in the water,” the pilot said, according to the New York Post.
Plane taking off from Long Island crashes into icy Hudson River during emergency landing https://t.co/o7vupS6UWw pic.twitter.com/h4fYJnMAJO
— New York Post (@nypost) March 3, 2026
More from the New York Post:
“We’ve lost our engine,” the pilot added, who, despite the harrowing circumstances, sounds calm and confident.
“Yeah, we’re going to go into the Hudson … I don’t think we’re going to make the airport,” he says.
He tells the air traffic controller that they were still running on “a little bit of power” and would be aiming for the west bank of the river. The controller assures the pilot that help is on the way.
The pilot and passenger, neither of whom have been identified, miraculously survived after the plane went down in the river near Newburgh around 8 p.m.
The pair managed to escape the wreckage and swim through the frigid river to the shoreline. They then walked to a heated warehouse along the waterfront where they changed into dry clothes they found there before first responders located them, officials told The Post.
They only suffered minor injuries, were able to crack jokes about the clothes they’d put on before they were taken to a local hospital for treatment, a local EMS official said.
“Another miracle on the Hudson. Thank God both the pilot and passenger of a single engine plane that performed an ice landing near Newburgh have been located with only minor injuries. Grateful to our first responders for their quick actions,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul commented.
Another miracle on the Hudson.
Thank God both the pilot and passenger of a single engine plane that performed an ice landing near Newburgh have been located with only minor injuries.
Grateful to our first responders for their quick actions.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) March 3, 2026
Fox News noted:
New York Rep. Pat Ryan said he was “closely monitoring reports of a small plane making an emergency landing near the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.”
“I’m in touch with officials on the ground, who have shared that both passengers are safely out of the water & have been evacuated by EMS,” he said. “Incredibly grateful for our Hudson Valley first responders who are responding swiftly and put their lives on the line to keep others safe.”
The cause of the emergency landing remains under investigation.