Overview
- A wave struck the seaplane as the pilot started the engine on Saturday morning, causing the aircraft to take on water near Riverside Drive and 158th Street by the Throgs Neck Bridge.
- A nearby private boater pulled the pilot and one passenger from the water and brought them to shore, and officials reported no serious injuries.
- NYPD and FDNY officials say the plane never became airborne and did not crash, while the pilot told a reporter the windshield cracked and the aircraft briefly lifted before coming down.
- Reporting identified the pilot as Giuseppe Oppedisano, who was at the controls in a 2020 fatal seaplane crash that the NTSB concluded resulted from poor pilot judgment.
- There is no new official investigative finding yet for the June 13 incident, and authorities and safety investigators are likely to review the event because of the location in a busy urban waterway and the pilot's past crash history.