A seaplane pilot and his passenger had to be rescued from the East River in Queens on Saturday after the aircraft crashed shortly after taking off. The plane came down after it was struck by a wave, causing the windshield to crack, according to the pilot and authorities at the scene.
The aircraft ran into trouble just near Riverside Drive and 158th St. in Whitestone, just near the Throggs Neck Bridge in New York when the incident happened around 9.20am.
A New York Fire Department spokesperson said a private boater who was situated nearby rescued the pilot, Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Oppedisano, and his passenger, Jose Urena…