‘We’re not going to die today’: Couple swims to buoy after plane crashes in water in Rhode Island
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP/Boston 25) — Two people were rescued from the water after their small plane crashed into a bay near a Rhode Island airport, authorities said.
The aircraft crashed Saturday afternoon into Narragansett Bay, shortly after taking off from Quonset State Airport, the North Kingstown Fire Department said.
Battalion Chief William Maccarone said the plane had already sunk when he arrived about eight minutes after the crash.
“We had a rough location of between one-half and one mile (0.8 to 1.6 kilometers) off of the end of the runway,” Maccarone told WPRI-TV.
Paul and Alysia Larson said they swam to a buoy to await rescue after the plane went down in the water about 2,000 feet from the runway.
“There was a moment where I was like, ‘I’m not sure if we’re going to make it,’” Alysia said. “I was also saying, ‘We are not going to die today.’”
Multiple agencies pitched in to rescue Paul and Alysia, who were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, including hypothermia, authorities said.
“These folks were basically hypothermic from being in the water, bumps and bruises,” Maccarone said.
The temperature of the bay on Saturday was nearly 43 degrees, or 6 degrees Celsius, according to Seatemperture.info, which uses satellite data and observations to get water temperatures.
The crash is under investigation.
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