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Audio: Pilot Urgently Searches for Emergency Landing Site in New York City

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A Piper PA-28 airplane carrying a pilot and two passengers lost power over the Bronx, New York City, during a return flight from an aerial tour.
  • The pilot made an emergency mayday call and, unable to reach a recommended park, performed an emergency landing on a closed section of the Major Deegan Expressway.
  • During the landing, the aircraft clipped trees and slid about 100 yards, resulting in collapsed landing gear, but there was no fire and no serious injuries to anyone involved.
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A Piper PA-28 pilot found himself in quite a bind over the weekend when his airplane lost power while flying over the Bronx in New York City. The pilot and two passengers had departed Connecticut’s Danbury Municipal Airport on Saturday to take in some aerial views of the Statue of Liberty and were returning to the airport when the engine trouble began.

The pilot made a mayday call at around 3:30 p.m., urgently pleading with air traffic control to provide him with information on where he could touch down. With less than 1,000 feet of altitude, the PA-28 pilot could not reach ATC’s recommendation of Van Cortlandt Park and instead landed on the Major Deegan Expressway near Exit 13.

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