Queens pilot abandons seaplane in East River after wave crashes into it; second time pilot survives crash

Thomas Tracy and Theodore Parisienne, New York Daily News on Jun 13, 2026

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NEW YORK — A Queens pilot about to take off in his seaplane from the East River near the Throgs Neck Bridge had to abandon ship when a large wave smashed into the plane, which began sinking, officials said.

It was the second time in six years restaurateur Joe Oppedisano, 67, and passenger Jose Urena needed to be rescued from a smashed seaplane. In 2020, the former’s previous single-engine seaplane crashed into a concrete pier near where his plane sank Saturday.

Oppedisano’s girlfriend, Maggie O’Neil, 61, died in the earlier crash. He and Urena were critically injured.

On Saturday, the two men were able to walk away from the 9:20 a.m. incident with just minor injuries.

“I was taking off and we hit a big wave,” the pilot told The New York Daily News after being brought back to shore. “The windshield cracked and we took on water.”

Oppedisano and Urena put on life preservers and jumped out of the plane before it became fully submerged. Sailors from a nearby private boat raced over, scooped the pair up and lashed ropes onto the sinking plane to keep it afloat.

“We never got off the ground,” Urena, 76, said. “(The wave) broke the window and we got out. Luckily there was a boat passing by and they called the Fire Department.”

An FDNY Marine unit quickly took the two men onto their boat to render medical aid. Their injuries were minor, an FDNY spokesman said.

The swamped plane was towed to land.

Urena said he and Oppedisano were in the water “for a minute and a half to two minutes” before they were rescued.

The two men were planning to fly to Fire Island to have lunch, he said.

“It was a fluke thing,” he said of their ordeal. “But everyone was very nice.”

Oppedisano owns the Il Bacco Ristorante in Little Neck, Queens. He lives on waterfront property on Riverside Drive, just a few feet from the site of Saturday’s accident, and has a berth for his seaplane.

During the Oct. 4, 2020, crash, Oppedisano was landing his seaplane when a boat crossed his path. He avoided crashing into the boat, but the plane skipped on the water and crashed into the pier.

A group of three jet skiers saw the crash and rushed in to assist, said John Polito, 45, who witnessed the incident.

“I heard it. It sounded like a tractor-trailer going full-blast down my block. And then I heard a big crash,” he said. “I walked in the back, nothing. All of a sudden I looked over the wall, and the plane was already against the wall, smashed up.”

“Thank God there were those three jet skiers out there,” he added. “They pulled up to the adjoining dock, hopped off, and got two people out.”