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Flight instructor, student swim to shore after plane crashes in icy Hudson River
ABC ^ | March 3, 2026 | Staff

Posted on 03/04/2026 8:02:36 AM PST by xxqqzz

NEWBURGH, New York (WABC) -- New details have been revealed about the small plane that crashed into the Hudson River on Monday night near Newburgh.

The occupants were identified as 31-year-old Liam D'Arcy, a certified flight instructor, and a 17-year-old male student, officials said. D'Arcy is a flight instructor with Long Island Flying, who has been instructing the student for approximately a year and a half.

The Cessna 172 originated from Long Island MacArthur Airport around 6:30 p.m. during a scheduled night training session. According to investigators, the student pilot was at the controls for most of the trip as they headed north toward the Tappan Zee Bridge before touching down at Stewart International Airport around 7:30 p.m. for a stop-and-go maneuver, a routine training exercise in which an aircraft lands, comes to a full stop on the runway, then immediately departs without taxiing or refueling.

After taking off from Stewart and beginning the return leg to Long Island, the aircraft began experiencing mechanical problems near the U.S. Military Academy, officials said. Instructor D'Arcy took control and issued a mayday call, turning the plane back toward Stewart. Moments later, the engine failed for reasons still under investigation, forcing the aircraft into a glide.

With the runway no longer reachable, D'Arcy chose the Hudson River as the safest emergency landing option.

(Excerpt) Read more at abc7ny.com ...


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KEYWORDS: plane
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To: xxqqzz

Glad they both survived.


21 posted on 03/04/2026 9:29:39 AM PST by PghBaldy (12/14/12- 930am -rampage begins... 12/15/12 - 1030am - Obama team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: C210N

Sorry, should have proofread my response.


22 posted on 03/04/2026 9:30:37 AM PST by fireman15
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To: C210N

And I realize that all the copies of the book at archive.org are restricted unless you become a patron.


23 posted on 03/04/2026 9:33:12 AM PST by fireman15
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To: C210N
OK, to conclude my series of clumsy responses, registering with https://archive.org/ is free and I found that many of the volumes of Stick and Rudder are available if you do. This one worked for me: I will “return it” so it is available to others. https://archive.org/details/stickrudderexpla0000wolf

There are several others as well.

24 posted on 03/04/2026 9:42:24 AM PST by fireman15
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To: Ditto

You are right in all you got down. But you may have failed to identify traffic, housing, pedestrian movement, and small townships on the roads. He may have chosen the lesser of evils.

I don’t know the area near Newburgh so there may not have been an open or low based product like a kale or spinach field within reach or big enough to set the aircraft down. If there was, that may have been a better choice.

wy69


25 posted on 03/04/2026 9:57:55 AM PST by whitney69 (uin.)
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To: fireman15
Damn that looks cold!
26 posted on 03/04/2026 10:06:12 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: eyeamok

1 1/2 years for private pilot training is about a year to long, it only takes 6 months for most.

Likely the student was going after an advanced rating like Comercial or Instrument.


27 posted on 03/04/2026 10:07:31 AM PST by JAKraig
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To: JAKraig

could be I suppose, but my Instrument rating only took a few months, granted I was in my own 172, which I still have today and am in my hangar as we speak. Just because I love my wife and we are still happily married, doesn’t mean I have to spend all day with her everyday in my retirement...


28 posted on 03/04/2026 10:13:05 AM PST by eyeamok
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To: xxqqzz

“Let’s do that Miracle on the Hudson thing!”


29 posted on 03/04/2026 10:26:56 AM PST by EnderWiggin1970
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To: fireman15

A year ago my son bought a salvage 2002 Porsche 911 turbo, that had been submerged in a hurricane flood near Tampa. The drivetrain had been sold off before putting the car up for auction.

After removing the entire interior, it appears to have gotten washed quite thoroughly, because corrosion is not appearing anywhere except in the electrical components.

He is watching for a wrecked one to pop up, that has a good drivetrain and mostly intact electrical components, and a decent wiring harness.

Hope that happens soon. Its taking up space in my shop.


30 posted on 03/04/2026 11:53:02 AM PST by Zuriel (Acts 2:38,39....Do you believe it?)
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To: xxqqzz

They sell parachutes for planes that size.

Kind of tells a lot about them.


31 posted on 03/04/2026 11:53:04 AM PST by Vaduz (NEVER TRUST A DEMOCRAT)
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To: xxqqzz

They could have died of hypothermia swimming in ice-filled water. God was watching over them.


32 posted on 03/04/2026 2:37:39 PM PST by mass55th (“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
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To: fireman15

Thanks for responding to me about the post I made about a Piper Comanche we bought that had been completely submerged in a flood. I made a typo, It should have said, When I contacted the mechanic who had done the overhaul, he said that the OWNER had insisted that the crank not be magnafluxed.

He did this because he was planning on selling the airplane and a replacement crank would have been several thousand dollars even back then. A new O-360 crank costs up to $18,000 these days.


33 posted on 03/04/2026 7:18:49 PM PST by fireman15
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