Sea plane crashes into NYC's East River, 2 rescued, FDNY says

The New York City Fire Department says a sea plane crashed into the East River on Saturday. 

The FDNY said it launched a major technical response just before 9:30 a.m. after getting reports of a small plane down in the water near the Throgs Neck Bridge and Whitestone, Queens.

The pilot and a passenger were taken onto an FDNY boat and no injures were reported, fire officials said.

The New York City Office of Emergency Management was also on the scene.  

Video shows the plane being towed out of the water. Sources said it was being taken to Whitestone. 

Queens restaurant owner and entrepreneur Joe Oppedisano was piloting the plane, CBS News New York confirmed with two sources.

Oppedisano was seriously injured in another plane crash near the Throgs Neck Bridge in 2020. He was also featured in a CBS News New York story in April about the opening of a shrine in Queens dedicated to Saint Pio, who is revered by many Italian-American Catholics.

Authorities said the cause of Saturday's crash remains under investigation.