NYPD bodycam shows moment they saved eight people from capsizing seaplane after it crashed in East River

By JAMES GORDON, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 04:55, 7 July 2026 | Updated: 04:55, 7 July 2026 The frantic race to save eight passengers trapped aboard a stricken seaplane in New York's East River has been captured in dramatic NYPD bodycam footage. A one minute long clip shows officers pulling alongside the listing aircraft just moments after its landing went wrong when it hit the surface of the water and lost one of its pontoons.  Officers with the NYPD Harbor Unit can be seen speeding across the river, securing the damaged aircraft with a rope before calmly guiding frightened passengers to safety while the seaplane tilts dangerously in the water. With the aircraft rocking beside them, officers can be heard urgently checking that everyone is accounted for before helping passengers climb one by one from the floating plane onto the narrow edge of the NYPD patrol boat. The rescue unfolded just after midday on Sunday after the Blade-operated seaplane returning from the Hamptons suffered a hard landing. Bodycam footage begins as the police vessel races toward the downed aircraft, whose left wing is already sitting noticeably lower in the water. As the patrol boat approaches, one officer directs the captain of the police boat to pull alongside one of the aircraft's pontoons so passengers can be evacuated as quickly as possible. A rope is then passed between the seaplane and the NYPD vessel, securing the two craft together and preventing them from drifting apart while the rescue gets underway. Newly released NYPD bodycam footage shows Harbor Unit officers racing to rescue eight people after a seaplane made an emergency landing in the East River Officers secured the stricken aircraft to their patrol boat with a rope before beginning the evacuation of passengers Photos from another angle show emergency services responding to the stricken seaplane in the East River 'How many people have you got?' one officer asks as he steps onto the pontoon beside the aircraft. The captain assures the officer that there were no serious injuries. Within seconds, officers begin ushering passengers from the cabin. One by one, they carefully step onto the aircraft's float before climbing across the narrow gap and onto the patrol boat, where Harbor Unit officers steady each person and help them safely into the cabin. Several passengers are seen wearing bright yellow life jackets as they cautiously make their way across while officers repeatedly reassure them that help has arrived. Throughout the rescue, the atmosphere remains remarkably calm despite the precarious position of the aircraft. Once everyone has been evacuated, police again confirm that all eight passengers have been accounted for and that nobody remains inside the aircraft. The footage also captures the professionalism of both the Harbor Unit officers and the seaplane crew as they work together to keep the damaged aircraft stable while the evacuation unfolds. Passengers wearing life jackets were helped one by one from the seaplane onto the NYPD Harbor Unit vessel Passengers wearing yellow life vests carefully made their way aboard the police boat The seaplane began listing heavily to one side as police boats rushed to reach it Later scenes show the partially submerged aircraft still floating in the East River before it is eventually secured and towed away. The rescue came after the Kodiak 100 single-engine turboprop developed trouble while returning to Manhattan from East Hampton Town following the July 4th holiday weekend. Among those onboard were Khloe Todd, 16, and her 75-year-old grandmother, Ada Todd, who had been returning from a birthday celebration in the Hamptons. Earlier footage obtained by the Daily Mail from inside the aircraft captured the terrifying moments following the hard landing. Khloe said she initially believed the aircraft was making a routine landing before hearing a loud thud and feeling the plane suddenly leaning sharply onto its left side. She heard the pilots repeatedly shout 'mayday' before ordering everyone aboard to put on their personal flotation devices. 'I've never taken these before,' Khloe told the Daily Mail. 'I was like, 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.' The hard landing cracked one of the aircraft's struts and damaged one of the pontoons All passengers were rescued safely from the airplane that crash landed off the marina at East 23rd Street and the FDR Drive in Manhattan after traveling from East Hampton She said another passenger with aviation knowledge helped reassure those onboard that they would survive. '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,'' she said. Khloe also said her grandmother, who has pre-existing spinal problems, suffered a head injury during the hard landing. Video recorded by witnesses on shore showed the aircraft striking the choppy river before listing heavily as emergency crews rushed toward it. Blade Air later told the Daily Mail the hard landing was likely caused by rough water created by ferry traffic combined with weather conditions following Saturday night's thunderstorms. 'There were a lot of ferries in the vicinity and there may have been wind at the last second,' a company source said. 'The waves they create can be a problem as you try to land on the water.' The pilots inside the aircraft started shouting 'mayday' and demanded that everyone put their life jackets on immediately after it crashed and started to list in the East River Ada Todd, who was celebrating her friend's birthday in the Hamptons over the weekend, was heard in the video saying 'oh my god' after the plane crashed Khloe Todd, 16, pictured, had been in the ritzy enclave with her grandmother for the weekend New Yorkers filmed the plane hit the choppy water and partially capsize, and rescue boats scramble to help the passengers from the stricken aircraft Blade said the impact cracked one of the aircraft's struts connecting the pontoons to the fuselage, causing damage to one of the floats. The flight was being operated by Acadian Seaplanes on behalf of Blade. The aircraft, manufactured in 2022 and registered to Del Air Sky, was later righted and towed to a dock near East 23rd Street before passengers collected their belongings and continued to their destinations by car. The incident remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the NYPD.