A Rhode Island couple is lucky to be alive after their small plane, which was running out of power, crashed into Narragansett Bay.
On Saturday, husband and wife Paul and Alysia Larson were nearing the end of their flight when their plane began to lose power, forcing an emergency landing in the water just out of reach of Quonset State Airport.
Alysia, a mother of seven and pilot of the plane, was worried that she and her 26-year-old husband would not survive as they had to land in the water.
“There was a moment where I thought, ‘I’m not sure we’re going to make it,'” pilot Alysia told the local NBC affiliate. WJAR.
And then I said, ‘No, we’re not going to die today.’ We are going to make it”.
Husband and wife Paul and Alysia Larson were nearing the end of their flight when their plane began to lose power, forcing an emergency landing just out of reach of Quonset State Airport.
Alysia, a mother of seven and pilot of the plane, was worried that she and her 26-year-old husband would not survive as they had to land in the water.
Once the yellow plane (pictured above the water) made contact with the bay, it immediately began to fill with water.
“We were in a half-mile final,” he continued. ‘We were so close to the track. I suddenly thought about adding a little power to gain a little height and I had no power. That’s when I realized we weren’t going to make it to the runway.
The couple flew Alysia’s late father’s single-engine Pipe Comanche, which she grew up flying with as a child.
Both pilots were Civil Air Patrol volunteers, so they received training on what to do in this type of emergency situation.
They quickly sent an emergency call to the Quanset control tower, reviewed their emergency checklist, and prepared for impact in the frigid bay.
Alysia said if it hadn’t been for her husband’s quick instincts, they probably wouldn’t have survived.
“He had the foresight to unlock and open the door before impact,” Larson added.
“It may have saved our lives because you never know, if you can’t open the door against the water pressure, that would have been a completely different scenario.” And the Piper Comanche only has one door.
Once the plane made contact with the water, it immediately began to fill with water. But the couple knew exactly what to do.
The couple flew Alysia’s late father’s single-engine Pipe Comanche, which she grew up flying with as a child.
Both pilots were Civil Air Patrol volunteers, so they were trained on what to do in this type of emergency situation.
Alysia painted a picture describing how she and her husband managed to stay afloat.
“We both took a wing,” Alysia said. “We were both on separate right and left wings. The nose was down and filling with water quickly. Then everything started going really fast. In the end we were both hanging on to the tail.’
Luckily, Alysia had her phone stuffed in her shirt when she escaped the plane. She called 911 and the North Kingstown emergency team responded to her distress call just before 3 p.m.
The couple remained in the water for more than 20 minutes before rescuers reached them.
“I was ready to start swimming immediately, he (Paul) said no, we have to stay on the plane and out of the water as long as possible. I followed his lead on that,” Alysia said.
The United States Coast Guard confirmed to WJAR that the plane lies at the bottom of the bay, broken into two pieces.
The United States Coast Guard confirmed to WJAR that the plane sank to the bottom of the bay, broken into two pieces.
The couple began swimming to shore when Paul began to get tired.
“There was a moment when I thought: Can I tow Paul?” Larson recalled, “He had a lot more clothes on, he had a leather jacket, so it was harder for him.”
Alysia and Paul were rescued with minor injuries by North Kingstown police and firefighters, the US Coast Guard and the RI Department of Environmental Management.
The two were reunited with their family Saturday night, the day before Easter Sunday.
“Seeing my five kids and my son-in-law,” Larson choked out. “An overwhelming feeling of gratitude.”