Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing In Hudson River: All Safe After Skilled Crash-Landing Following Total Engine Failure
A helicopter in the Hudson made an emergency landing in the Hudson River after the engine lost power in mid-air. The pilot and four passengers, Swedish tourists on a family tour of New York by air, were uninjured.
The charter helicopter landed in the New York City's Hudson river successfully when the engines went kaput after 12 minutes in the air. The "hero pilot" used the helicopter's pontoons, and it remained upright.
"The pilot did a terrific job considering he'd lost his engine power," Deputy Fire Chief Thomas McKavanaugh told press.
"He had some kind of control - a very skilled pilot," he added.
There were no injuries, but the Swedish family was taken to the hospital for observation, McKavanaugh said.
"I was just doing my job. I did what I had to do," said helicopter pilot Michael Campbell.
The helicopter landed in the Hudson near the 79th St Basin, close to the New York City Marina. It landed shortly before noon.
The helicopter vanished into the splash, but then "popped up," employees at the Boat Basin Café said.
One, Clifort Betances, 20, said that despite the speed, "it didn't look out of control" as it plummeted toward the water.
An onlooker who pulled the pilot into his boat said, "At the beginning, we thought maybe it was an exercise." Then Sebastien Berthelet, a visitor from Montreal who was on a boat nearby, said he realized something was wrong. "When he hit the water, it was hard," he said.
The family was calm and healthy, but "They were all shocked, of course."
Berthelet said the modest pilot said the landing "could have been smoother" after he was complimented on the heroic rescue of the helicopter.
"I said, 'Well, it could have been worse, too,'" Berthelet told press.
The incident was reminiscent of a similar incident where all escaped unharmed, the "Miracle on the Hudson". In 2009, a US Airways flight had to land in the Hudson after striking a flock of geese. Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III safely landed the plane, and the 155 travelers on board survived.
The pilot had only been on the job for a year, but his uncle said he "loves" the sky. "He takes a lot of the bigwigs from one heliport to another heliport so they can catch their limos and go to Wall St. Otherwise, he does tours," he said.
"I'm so proud of Michael," pilot's grandmother, Mary Ann Campbell, 68, told press.
"Somebody was watching over him to keep him safe and the tourists with him safe."