The veteran flight instructor who crash-landed a malfunctioning single-engine Cessna on an icy Hudson River said he’s grateful that he survived the harrowing ordeal.
“I’m just glad I’m OK,” Liam Darcy, 31, told The Post at his Long Island home following the Monday night “miracle” that saw him and a 17-year-old fight student swim to safety through frigid waters.
He credits his skills as a former surfer with his ability to make the 10-yard swim.
A single-engine Cessna 172 remained submerged in the Hudson following a Monday night crash-landing. Aristide Economopoulos for the NY Post“I got no sleep,” an exhausted Darcy said. “I got home at like 4:30 in the morning and I’m just…. I’m not ready to make any statements yet.”
Darcy and the teen student took off from Stewart International Airport around 7:30 p.m. and were headed back to Long Island when the Cessna 172’s engines conked out, state police said Tuesday.
Darcy took the controls from the youngster and radioed the airport — then set the small plane down on a patch of floating ice near Newburgh, touching down safely before the plane plunged into the waters.
The two reached shore and walked to a nearby warehouse, where first responders found them.
State police said flight instructor Liam Darcy and a teen student swam to safety following a watery crash landing. Aristide Economopoulos for the NY Post
Both Liam Darcy and a teen flying student were released from a Newburgh hospital after a water crash. Middle Hope Fire Dept.Both were taken to St. Luke’s hospital in Newburgh and released, with Darcy and the teen — his flight student for the last year and a half — medically cleared and released.
“Everyone’s good,” Darcy said.
The high-flying feat prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to call the incident “Miracle on the Hudson 2,” a reference to the 2009 US Airways crash in the river that made pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger a legend.
