Training Cessna 172 Ditches in Hudson River; Instructor, Student Escape Unhurt

A single-engine Cessna 172 carrying 31-year-old flight instructor Liam Darcy of Long Island Flying and a 17-year-old male student made an emergency water landing in the Hudson River near Newburgh after reporting engine trouble on a return leg from Stewart International Airport. The two occupants pulled themselves from the wreckage, swam to shore, were treated at a hospital for minor injuries and later released, local responders said.

The flight began at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma at about 6:30 p.m. as a scheduled night training session. The student was at the controls for most of the trip, and the aircraft landed at Stewart International Airport around 7:30 p.m. for a stop-and-go maneuver before departing on the return leg that ended in the river, aviation reports show.

Shortly after takeoff from Stewart, the Cessna began experiencing mechanical problems near the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, prompting Darcy to take control, issue a mayday and attempt to return to Stewart. Tower audio captured during the emergency records the call: "We're going into the Hudson River, I don't think we are gonna make the airport." Minutes later the plane made a 180-degree turn and touched down on an ice-covered stretch of the river roughly 200 feet from the western shoreline south of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, witnesses and photo evidence indicate.

Responders from the Middle Hope Fire Department initially could not locate the aircraft, then spotted the wreckage floating amid chunks of ice in waters off Newburgh. Middle Hope posted photos and a statement saying the two were able to pull themselves out of the wreckage and swim to shore. New York State Police identified the occupants and coordinated the response; both were transported to a local hospital and released after treatment for undisclosed minor injuries.

Officials described the incident as occurring about 62 miles north of Manhattan and emphasized that the cause remains under investigation. Some radio and media reports noted a loss of oil pressure and power before the landing, while other accounts summarized the event as an engine failure for reasons still under investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, along with New York State Police, are investigating the sequence of events, maintenance and training records.

Gov. Kathy Hochul praised emergency crews, calling the rescue "another miracle on the Hudson." For Suffolk County and Long Island communities, the incident highlights the intersection of local flight training operations based at MacArthur, the risks of night instruction over cold, ice-prone waters, and the role of coordinated emergency medical and maritime response when training flights go wrong. Investigators are expected to review tower audio, aircraft records and training logs before releasing a preliminary factual report.