A NY Waterway ferry crew picked up a pilot after a helicopter crash in the Hudson River Wednesday, the latest in a long line of rescues for the cross-river commuter service.
NY Waterway deckhand Edwin Montoya prepares to pick up the helicopter pilot. NY Waterway photo
Capt. Adam Schiano pointed his ferry toward the scene, as deckhand Edwin Montoya prepared to deploy the vessel’s Jason’s Cradle rescue device off the bow. The pilot, who had a hand injury but was otherwise unscathed, safely got off the overturned aircraft and Montoya pulled him on board.
“It was just instinct. Just another day for NY Waterway rescues,” said Schiano, for whom it was his second save in 10 years. “We’re right here. Edwin Montoya is an outstanding deckhand. He moved instantly to the rescue.”
Fire officials said there were only minor injuries to pilot Eric Morales and a heliport employee as he moved to avoid flying debris.
The helicopter was secured at the scene, and removed by the Corps of Engineers vessel Hayward.
In its 32 years of operation NY Waterway’s crews have rescued almost 300 people from the waters of New York Harbor, including 143 people rescued from U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in 2010 – remembered as the “miracle on the Hudson,” when pilots of the U.S. Airways A320 ditched in the Hudson after a bird strike, in what was the most successful marine rescue in aviation history.
