Developing: a routine training flight in March turned into a fight for survival.

When a student pilot and instructor flying a Cessna 172 lost engine power over New York’s Hudson River, they were forced to make a split-second decision: attempt to get to Stewart International Airport near the United States Military Academy at West Point or put the aircraft down somewhere else.

About five miles short of the airport, the crew realized they wouldn’t make it back. They decided to ditch onto a patch of ice in the river at night.

Miraculously, both the student and instructor survived the crash and were able to swim to shore. The incident raises several important questions about training flights, decision-making, and risk management.

In this episode, the Flight Safety Detectives break down the developing story and examine key issues the National Transportation Safety Board will likely investigate, including:

✈️ What kind of preflight planning was done before the flight?
✈️ What caused the engine power loss?
✈️ Why was this route along the Hudson chosen for a night training flight?
✈️ Was this route part of the flight school’s curriculum?
✈️ When — or if — control transferred from the student to the instructor?

Even though no one was seriously injured, this close call highlights a critical aviation lesson: decisions made before and during a flight can determine the outcome when something goes wrong.

The Flight Safety Detectives analyze the situation, explore the risks of night training over challenging terrain, and discuss what pilots and instructors everywhere can learn from this incident.

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Loss of Power Leads to Ice Landing - Episode 320