The veteran pilot made a split-second decision to land on a slab of Hudson River ice on Monday night — giving him and a teen flight student seconds to flee the cockpit to swim to safety through freezing waters.
Liam Darcy, 31, made the “miracle” watery landing near upstate Newburgh just a half hour after the single-engine Cessna 172 took off from Stewart International Airport — taking the controls of the aircraft from the student and radioing the airport moments before splashing down.
“Yeah, we’re going to go into the Hudson,” the Long Island native told the tower shortly before the 8 p.m. crash, according to audio of the distress call. “I don’t think we’re going to make the airport.”
The small Cessna plane crashed into the Hudson River on Monday, March 3, 2026. Aristide Economopoulos for the NY Post
A map of the flight’s track before it crashed. Flightradar24That’s when the plane “started to glide,” and Darcy was forced to look for a place to set down the malfunctioning craft, state police Capt. Brad Natalizio told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday.
“Mr. Darcy selected the Hudson River as the safest available emergency landing option,” he said. “The airplane flew north toward the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, executed a 180-degree turn, and landed on an icy section of the river, approximately 200 feet from the western shoreline.”
The Cessna hit the ice, and Darcy and the teen were able to escape the cockpit and swim to shore — wet and freezing in sub-30-degree temperatures, but very much alive.
The pair stumbled to a nearby warehouse, where they changed into dry clothes that they found and waited for first responders, who arrived less than 15 minutes after getting Darcy’s distress call, EMS officials said.
The two were taken to St. Luke’s Hospital for possible hypothermia as a precaution — in “good spirits” and cracking jokes, officials said.
The Cessna 172 crashed shortly after it took off from Long Island. Middle Hope Fire Dept.
Police respond to the scene of the small Cessna plane crashing into the Hudson River. Aristide Economopoulos for the NY PostThey were released after being medically cleared.
“I’m just glad I’m OK,” Darcy told The Post from his home Tuesday. “I got no sleep. I got home at like 4:30 in the morning and I’m just … I’m not ready to make any statements yet.”
The passengers and pilot swam to safety after the crash. Middle Hope Fire Dept.The plane remained submerged late Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by ice with its tail and right wing sticking above the waterline.
An insider at Stewart Airport, who did not wish to be named, told The Post that it’s typical for training pilots to loop their planes around Stewart Airport with students before turning back to Long Island.
Police said the teen flight student piloted the plane safely through the entire routine and even made a perfect “stop and go maneuver” at Stewart before taking off to return to Long Island.
Once the engine malfunctioned, the “lack of wind [Monday night] could have made it more difficult to keep the nose of this plane up on approach because he had no power as he hit the water,” the insider said.
“This pilot was either very lucky or very good to be able to sacrifice his tail and not flip over,” he said.
The water ordeal prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to call it “another miracle on the Hudson” in an online post.
It was a reference to the Jan. 15, 2009, “Miracle on the Hudson” emergency water landing by US Airways Flight 1549, which lost both engines after being struck by birds.
Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles managed to land the plane safely in the river, saving all 155 on board.
The feat made Sullenberger a cult hero and the subject of the hit flick “Sully,” directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks.
Additional reporting by Brandon Cruz
