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The plane that landed on the Hudson river earlier this month “lost total power,” causing it to plunge and forcing the pilots to swim across the frozen waters, the feds revealed.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which released its preliminary report on the crash late Wednesday, revealed the plane’s engine had started underperforming after the pair had reached Stewart International Airport for a “touch-and-go landing.”
Just moments after radioing in the emergency to Air Traffic Control, the plane’s engine “began to run extremely rough” before it completely died, prompting lead pilot and instructor Liam Darcy, 31, to take over control of the aircraft from his 17-year-old trainee and pull off a miracle landing on the frozen river, the NTSB report said.
“[Darcy] took over the controls from the student pilot and determined that the airplane would not be able to reach the airport,” the report read.
“He then chose to land in the Hudson River close to the western shore, at the area with the most lighting,” the report continued.
After crash-landing into the ice, Darcy and his student pilot then “ditched” the single-engine Cessna — which the report detailed was heavily damaged and sunk — and swam to the closest shore.
The plane’s parts were recovered from river the following day, the report detailed.
Both pilots were taken to St. Luke’s hospital in Newburgh and released, with Darcy and the teen — his flight student for the last year and a half — received treatment for minor injuries and were medically cleared and released the same day.
“Everyone’s good,” Darcy told The Post the morning after the traumatic crash.
A full NTSB report detailing the probable cause of the crash and any contributing factors won’t be out for another 12 to 24 months, a spokesperson for the agency said.
English (US)