Plane Crash With a Champagne Toast

[Lloyd Danforth]

In the radio report he takes part in a champagne toast with the wedding party

http://lohud.com/article/20090810/NEWS02/908100326/-1/SPORTS

Doctor safe after crash-landing plane on Long Island Sound

By Aman Ali • aali@lohud.com • August 10, 2009

CROSS RIVER - A local doctor was unharmed after crash-landing his small plane on Long Island Sound and finding himself an uninvited - yet graciously welcomed - guest at a Connecticut wedding.

Dr. Albert Sheehy, a 77-year-old internist from Cross River with a practice in Tarrytown, was flying from Block Island to Danbury, Conn., on Saturday when his plane lost power.

"My engine stopped," he said. "I lost all my oil pressure, and all of a sudden there was a loud bang and the propeller wasn't going around any more."

Knowing he had only a few minutes before his plane would plunge, Sheehy decided to land the Piper Cherokee in the Sound's shallow water at Westbrook, Conn. He made a safe landing by gliding his plane onto the water.

A man riding a personal watercraft in the area took him to land. Onlookers told the Connecticut newspaper The Day they were amazed Sheehy was completely dry and unharmed, calling him "Sully" after Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who landed a jet safely on the Hudson River seven months ago.

The crash took place near the Westbrook Elks Club, where Donald and Susan Mikalsen were holding their wedding reception. They welcomed the wedding crasher with a smile.

"I was telling people: 'Well, we said it wouldn't be boring,' " Susan Mikalsen said.

The couple said they were relieved Sheehy was OK after news of the fatal midair collision earlier in the day over the Hudson River.

A small plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter, killing nine people, including three fathers and three teenage sons. By nightfall yesterday, seven victims had been pulled from the water.