One woman is dead, two men critically injured in a seaplane crash on Flushing Bay in Whitestone, Queens, fire officials said.
NYPD says the small aircraft, a single-engine seaplane, went down at around 3:05 p.m. on Oct. 4 and slammed into a concrete pier near the address of 158-11 Riverside Dr. FDNY firefighters on the scene found all of the occupants already on the dock.
One woman was apparently dead at the scene, while a 60-year-old man, was in cardiac arrest upon arrival of FDNY and EMS; he was removed to New York-Presbyterian Queens in Flushing. One man could be seen in the back of an ambulance, apparently unconscious before leaving.
A fourth person, a jet skier who assisted in operations, was also treated for unspecified injuries.
Fire Commissioner Dan Nigro said at a press conference that the plane struck the pier and “broke into pieces” upon impact. The cause of the crash was not known.
Letta Jaucits, who’s home is next to the pier where the plan crashed, said she ran out of her home when she heard a loud noise.
“It sounded like something falling,” Jaucits said as she looked at debris that had ended up on deck. Papers and a plastic bag, along with a bottle of hydraulic fuel, had fallen next to her pool.
“I came out and the plane was just sitting there and then the firemen came running in to help them,” Jaucits added.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
With reporting by Todd Maisel
