Helicopter with Swedish tourists makes emergency landing in Hudson River
The Hudson River churns under the early effects of Hurricane Irene August 28, 2011 in New York City.
NEW YORK — Four Swedish tourists on a helicopter tour of New York City got a closer look of the city than they’d planned for when their chopper crash-landed in the Hudson River on Sunday afternoon.
The helicopter lost power 12 minutes after it left the Wall Street Heliport and went down near 79th Street, NBC News reported. Using the helicopter’s pontoons, the pilot was able to land the aircraft upright in the water.
None of the four passengers — two adults and two teenagers — or the 23-year-old pilot, Mike Campbell, were seriously injured.
Recreational boaters pulled the five out of the water.
Sebastian Berthele from Montreal sped over in his boat to the downed helicopter and rescued the pilot, the New York Post reported.
"I congratulated him for the landing," Berthele said, according to the New York Post. "He said there was a mechanical problem. I said, 'Well, nice landing. We saw it.' He said, 'It could have been smoother.'"
Berthele continued, "I said, 'Well, it could have been worse.' He said, 'I'm happy everyone's alive. I'm happy everyone's OK.'"