New York State Police say a Monday night plane crash on the Hudson River south of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge was an accident.
According to troopers, the Cessna 172N began experiencing mechanical failure around 8 p.m. while returning to Long Island MacArthur Airport from Stewart International Airport in Newburgh. State Police say Liam Darcy, a 31-year-old flight instructor from Suffolk County, declared a mayday, and Stewart’s airport operations reported the incident to Orange County 911.
Once it was determined the small plane could not safely reach the runway, the plane conducted an emergency landing on an ice-covered portion of the river 200 feet from the city of Newburgh shoreline — a little more than 2 miles south of the bridge. Police say a preliminary investigation indicates no signs of impairment or criminality.
Darcy was in the middle of a scheduled training flight with a 17-year-old student from Nassau County. Darcy and the student were able to get themselves out of the plane and swim to shore, where they were located by responding officers. Troopers say the flyers were taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, treated for hypothermia and later released.