Frightening video has shown the chaotic moments after a small plane carrying eight people went down in New York’s East River on Sunday morning and began tipping into the water.
Among those on board was 16-year-old Khloe Todd, who was returning from a weekend in the Hamptons with her grandmother, Ada. The pair had been celebrating one of Khloe’s friends’ birthdays during the Independence Day heatwave.
The aircraft had taken off from East Hampton Town, one of Long Island’s wealthiest enclaves, at 10.38am on Sunday and was due to land in Manhattan.
Instead, shortly before midday, Khloe said she heard a sudden “thud” as the Blade seaplane began to roll onto its left side, setting off flashing lights and alarms inside the cabin.
Panic quickly spread when the teenager heard the pilots shouting “mayday” and urgently instructing everyone on board to put on their life jackets.
Khloe had been seated two rows behind the pilots beside her 75-year-old grandmother when the aircraft crashed and its left wing started dipping into the East River.
In the disturbing footage shared with the Daily Mail, one of the pilots can be heard telling shaken passengers that the “pontoon broke.”
Ada Todd, clutching a leather Hermes Kelly bag and a bottle of water in one hand, is heard saying, “oh my god” — words her granddaughter then repeats as the scene unfolds.
The pilots inside the aircraft start shouting ‘mayday’ and demanded that everyone put their life jackets on immediately after it crashed and started to capsize in the East River
Ada Todd, who was celebrating her friend’s birthday in the Hamptons over the weekend, was heard in the harrowing video saying ‘oh my god’ after the plane crashed
Khloe Todd, 16, (pictured) was in the ritzy enclave with her grandmother for the weekend
‘We need everyone to put your PFDs [personal flotation devices] on, okay?’ the pilot said, as Khloe filmed from her seat and Ada held on to the chair in front of her.
Two passengers then respond in worried voices, ‘where are they?’ before the video abruptly ends.
Khloe told the Daily Mail: ‘I’ve never taken these [planes] before. I was like oh, we’re landing in the water, you know, obviously it’s going to be a little bumpy.
‘But I didn’t expect it to be that bumpy. So then I see everyone is shouting mayday mayday mayday, open your life vests.’
She said she was grateful for a man sitting in the seats behind them on the plane, who helped calm everyone down as the aircraft flipped into the water.
She added: ‘There was a guy behind us who knew about planes, who was telling us, “We are okay, we aren’t going to drown, everything will be okay.”‘
Khloe told the Daily Mail that her grandma has prior spinal problems and her head was injured in the aftermath of the crash.
New Yorkers filmed the Kodiak 100 single-engine turbo prop hit the choppy water and partially capsize, and rescue boats scramble to help the passengers from the stricken aircraft.
Khloe filmed from her seat, as her 75-year-old grandmother Ada held on to the chair in front of her during the mayday situation
New Yorkers filmed the plane hit the choppy water and partially capsize, and rescue boats scramble to help the passengers from the stricken aircraft
The passengers and crew were seen being assessed by ambulances near the entrance to FDR Drive after being brought to shore.
Blade Air told the Daily Mail that the hard landing was likely caused by choppy water from passing boats and Saturday night’s thunderstorm.
‘There were a lot of ferries in the vicinity and there may have been wind at the last second,’ a source at the company said.
‘The waves they create can be a problem as you try to land on the water.’
Blade said the impact cracked one of the plane’s struts – which connects the pontoons to the body of the plane – which also caused damage to one of the pontoons.
The flight was being operated by Acadian Seaplanes on Blade’s behalf.
The plane was manufactured in 2022 and registered to Del Air Sky with tail number N555NL, according to records.
Once everyone on board was helped out, the plane was righted and towed to the docks near 23rd Street.
Blade said passengers got their bags about 20 minutes after they were helped ashore, and were put in cars to their final destinations.
The hard landing will be investigated by the NYPD and Federal Aviation Administration.
