(Aug. 10) - Most people involved in a plane crash are grateful just to be back on solid ground. Albert Sheehy was greeted with champagne and a dinner invitation.
Sheehy, 77, was flying his single-engine plane from Block Island, R.I., Saturday afternoon when the propeller cut out, forcing him to crash-land in Long Island Sound, about 100 yards from a Westbrook, Conn., beach. On the shore, Susan and Don McCaulson were enjoying their wedding reception.
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Sheehy told AOL News he was on his way to Danbury, Conn., when the plane trouble started. "I was at about 4,000 feet when, in rapid sequence, I got a little rough engine, then the oil pressure dropped and then the propeller stopped," the internist from Crossriver, N.Y., said.
According to Sheehy's GPS, the nearest airfield was 18 miles away and he knew he couldn't glide that far. "The only alternative was to set down on I-95, and it was too crowded, so the Sound was the only place I could safely put it," he said.
He set the plane down safely on the water and climbed out onto the wing, returning to the cabin to retrieve a few possessions. Then a jet skier came by and offered him a ride to the shore, which Sheehy gratefully accepted.
When he reached the beach, Sheehy said he was greeted by Don and Susan McCaulson's wedding party. The couple told WTNH News their day had already included a dramatic entrance into the wedding ceremony--on horseback!--and a boat ride to the reception.
They took the new arrival in stride. Sheehy said he was offered a glass of champagne and asked to stay for dinner. "They were very nice, but obviously I had a lot of things to take care of," Sheehy said, and he did not stay to enjoy the party.
Sheehy's plane was fished out of the water by a boat rescue company and is being held at a local marina. Although he is awaiting the final word from his insurance company, Sheehy is not confident it will fly again.
This is good news to Sheehy's long-term partner. Sheehy said she is "very happy" he is okay, but had not been a big fan of the plane to begin with. Not so for the doctor, who said he will be flying again as soon as he can get another airplane. "I don't know how much of a career I have left, so I want to get back out there as soon as I can."
