A helicopter carrying Shane McMahon and pilot Mario Regtien had to make an emergency “crash landing” in the water off the coast of Babylon, NY (in Long Island) this morning, ABC 7 Eyewitness News is reporting.
Neither Shane or the pilot were injured. Emergency responders helped them to shore.
“We heard some noise, and it became very clear to me that I could no longer continue flying the helicopter,” Regtien said. “So I decided to do an auto-rotation landing in the water.”
“It went as good as it could go,” Regtien said. “Landed softly, and I checked to see if he was OK. Everyone was fine, and we waited for the Coast Guard at that point. I left my shoes in the helicopter in case we had to swim.”
Shane commented:
“It’s very unsettling when all the sudden you have something happen,” McMahon said. “You hear a bang, and then you start saying, ‘We’re going to do an emergency landing in the water.’ So yes, it was very unnerving. But again, Mario was super calm, which made me super calm. And we landed perfectly.”
“First of all, I’d like to thank the pilot, Mario,” he said. “He did an amazing job. He was cool under pressure. I couldn’t have been in better hands. He explained everything as it was happening. I’d also like to thank the Coast Guard, who was there instantaneously, Suffolk County Marine, a bureau that was there, the lifeguards that came to the beach. Just thankful that everything worked out well and that we’re here.”
I'd like to thank the man upstairs for looking out this morning & thanks to pilot Mario, Suffolk County Marine Bureau & Babylon Coast Guard.
— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) July 19, 2017
Shane McMahon involved in a helicopter crash landing. Glad to hear he's okay. pic.twitter.com/FbgCuUaCTA
— Joe Martelli (@JoeM219) July 19, 2017
Photo via Eyewitness News: