The pilot of the small plane that crashed in the Hudson River Monday night told air traffic controllers he lost his engine moments before splashing down in the icy waters and swimming to shore with his passenger.
“I think I might have to put it in the water,” the pilot said in the distress call, according to dramatic audio obtained by News 12 Hudson Valley.
A small Cessna plane crashed into the Hudson River on Monday, March 2, 2026. Aristide Economopoulos for the NY 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’s distress call was documented before the plane crashed into the Hudson River. Blaise Gomez / News 12The 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 Cessna 172 plane seen submerged in the Hudson River. Middle Hope Fire Dept.
The small Cessna plaen crashed shortly after taking off from Long Island. Aristide Economopoulos for the NY PostThe 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.
