Here are a few more videos (one above and two after the jump) showing the landing of an Osprey aircraft during the Fleet Week military helicopter raid demonstration at Cloves Lake Park on Staten Island yesterday. The Osprey's "downwash" caused what one witness called "two tornadoes"—complete with broken tree branches and flying objects.
One woman told WABC 7, "It was like a storm of sand and garbage and people running. Branches just came down. They were all over the park. ... It was really scary." Ten people, including a one-year-old and an elderly man, suffered minor injuries; seven were taken to the hospital for observation while three refused medical attention.
Marine Capt. Michael Henson told the Daily News, "We came in over the trees. You can't see what's going on underneath them. The next thing we see is a blanket coming up in the air. That means one thing, someone is sitting down below us. The only thing to do was to just keep going." But an 80-year-old woman whose ankle was hit by a piece of wood wishes they didn't—or that she made a different decision, "It was a really scary and horrific scene. I'm all shook up right now and I can't stop shaking... I came here to have a lovely day. It was between this and the beach, and now I wish I chose the beach."
