Denise De Priester of East Windsor, N.J. was taking in the Manhattan skyline Sunday with a friend, Christopher Smidt, a correctional sergeant from Colonia, N.J. when the engine balked somewhere around the George Washington Bridge.
She tells WABC-TV hthe plane dropped 400 feet in five seconds. She says she didn't have enough time to recover so she focused on making a safe water landing.
She says she made a mayday call but got no response.
They were in the frigid water about 30 minutes before being rescued. She says she never doubted they'd survive.
