One woman died and two men were badly injured after a seaplane crashed into an East River pier near the Throgs Neck Bridge in Queens on Sunday afternoon, according to officials.
Maggie O'Neill, 61, of Murray Hill, Queens, was a passenger on the seaplane when it crashed into the pier about 3 p.m. in the affluent waterfront enclave of Beechhurst, Queens, according to police and fire officials.
Two men, a pilot and another passenger in their 60s, were badly injured in the crash, but were expected to survive, officials said.
"Witnesses said that the plane was traveling rather fast along the water, skipped twice, and hit the pier," FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said at the scene on Riverside Drive and 158th Street. The injured pilot and passenger were helped out of the wreckage by a good samaritan, who saw the single-engine plane crash, the commissioner said.
The good Samaritan and another person were treated by emergency medical personnel at the scene, but declined further treatment.
The NY Post reported the pilot, Joe Oppesdisano, lives near the water and took the seaplane out nearly everyday. The pilot reportedly owns an Italian restaurant in Little Neck.
An investigation into how the crash happened is ongoing, FDNY Commission Nigro added.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, "Please keep these people and their families in your thoughts tonight."
