A helicopter crashed into the roadway in a Long Island neighborhood Wednesday afternoon but both occupants walked away without serious injury, authorities say.
The helicopter crashed near Buena Vista Boulevard and East Alhambra Avenue in Lindhurst Wednesday afternoon after the aircraft lost power for some reason and plummeted 700 feet, authorities say.
The aircraft's pilot was able to make an emergency landing, according to the Academy of Aviation, which owns the helicopter. He put the aircraft down on its side in the small residential area on the shores of South Oyster Bay, and he and his trainee -- who was on his first flight ever -- were able to walk away from the crash largely unscathed.
"It was a ridiculously difficult landing," said Frank Delia with the Academy of Aviation. "Everyone who's been on scene so far -- the police, the FAA -- commented on what a good job he's done."
Laura St. Angelo told NBC 4 New York that he heard the helicopter sputtering, then went outside and saw the chopper struggling to stay aloft. She said it appeared as if the chopper's propeller stop spinning, and the aircraft dropped straight to the ground, making a hard landing.
"The propellers actually stopped and I saw the fear in his face," she said.
The chopper then went down -- St. Angelo described the sound of hitting the ground as a "thud" -- and landed on its side.
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The pilot declined to comment on the crash to NBC 4 New York.
The FAA is investigating what caused the power loss.
