Two Days After Bizarre Beach Landing, Pilot Rushed to the Hospital
Pilot got idea for landing from reality TV show, "Flying Wild Alaska."
April 6, 2011 — -- Jason Maloney, the pilot who made a bizarre emergency landing this Monday on a Rockaways beach in Queens, N.Y. has been rushed to the hospital for seizures. After an embarassing transcript was released, displaying Maloney's carefree attitude toward the dubious beach landing, the pilot had been hold up in his Cornwall, N.Y. home.
Maloney was carried shoeless from his home in a chair by medical workers Wednesday, according to the New York Daily News. The workers transferred him to a gurney and loaded him into an ambulance.
His father told Fox 5's Brian Andrews that the family had called the ambulance for him. It is unclear why he needed to be taken to St. Luke's Hospital but Cornwall police called it a medical emergency.
Residents near the beach were in for an odd sight Monday night. A small, single engine plane made an emergency landing there, just miles from JFK airport. The pilot, 24-year-old Maloney, seemed uncharacteristically relaxed throughout the ordeal, even joking with air traffic control.
The plane landed safely, and none of its two passengers were injured, including a 21-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man. According to the recording, Maloney asked for permission to land in shallow water, telling the air traffic controller, "This might be crazy, but are we allowed to land on the beach?"
The pilot originally reported that he had a sick passenger, but then later admitted that he had got the idea from " Flying Wild Alaska," a reality show on the Discovery channel. The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot "reported a rough-running engine." Or, as Maloney stated, because his engine was "a little teeeensy bit rough."
In the startlingly casual exchange, Maloney responded "roger" several times to the air traffic controller, but pronouncing it "rod-jahhh," stretching out its syllables.
His cavalier attitude continued, as he told the controller, "Just let me know if we're up in your grill, you know."Both passengers and pilot survived the incident without injury but the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the matter.
A partial transcript: Pilot: Hey tower, I got a question for ya.Controller: Go ahead.Pilot: This might be crazy, but are we allowed to land on the beach?Controller: You mean you want me to follow the shoreline at below 500 feet?Pilot: Roger.Pilot: Just let me know if we're up in your grill, you know.
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