PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. (AP) – Fighting frigid water temperatures and racing against the clock, officers grabbed anything they could to try to rescue three men who were aboard a small plane that crash-landed in the Long Island Sound, less than a mile off the New York shoreline. The search continued Sunday for one person who was still missing.
It was around 11 p.m. Saturday when the Piper PA-28 landed in Port Jefferson Harbor, about 60 miles east of New York City, authorities said. It was pitch black when officers responding to a 911 call made their ways to the shoreline.
“When we came up, we heard them yelling,” said Suffolk County Police Officer Matthew Merced, who helped rescue the men. “We decided the only way we could get to them is to take the kayaks out there and see if we could support them so they could survive.”
And that’s what they did. The officers commandeered kayaks from houses along the shore and began paddling out into the harbor, using their flashlights to guide them toward the voices crying for help.
Four people were aboard the plane. Three made it to the shore.