NYC's East River Had an Unexpected Weekend Guest

A flight that began in the Hamptons ended in the East River on Sunday, but officials say everyone walked away from the scene. New York City officials say a Kodiak 100 seaplane carrying eight people made a "hard landing" in the water just north of the Williamsburg Bridge shortly after noon, reports CNN. The plane remained upright; the AP notes that images online showed "a white plane appearing to lean over on its side with the tip of its left wing in the water as a helicopter circled overhead." All eight occupants were pulled from the plane in the river, per CNN. Two reported minor injuries but declined treatment, according to the FDNY.

Audio posted on ATC.com captured an NYPD helicopter reporting a "mayday' on a "plane down in the water," then later noting, "It looks like the pilot is OK," as boats moved in to help. The aircraft had departed East Hampton Airport at 11:24am, per flight records, and was later towed to a dock. Two of the passengers on the plane were 75-year-old Ada Todd and her 16-year-old granddaughter, Khloe Todd, per the New York Times, which reports that the plane hit a wave while landing, according to local police and fire officials. "I wanted her to have an experience, but this experience was very bad," said the shaken-up grandma. "Thank God we're alive."

Witnesses, meanwhile, were impressed at how the pilot navigated the situation. "He pulled a Sully on that one," one bystander said, referring to Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the pilot who safely landed a commercial plane in NYC's Hudson River in 2009, with no fatalities. "The pilot did a great job on making sure [the plane] didn't turn over." The rough touchdown snapped a wing strut, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The seaplane, built in 2025, has an owner who isn't publicly listed in FAA records, per CNN. The agency says it's investigating the incident.