STATEWIDE

SMALL PLANE CRASHES INTO HUDSON RIVER; TWO RESCUED

YONKERS, N.Y. – A student pilot and his instructor who made a desperate radio plea for help before their small plane crashed into the Hudson River yesterday were rescued by divers and helicopter crews.

“Engine out!” they exclaimed over their radio just before the crash. “We’re going into the water!”

Instructor John Eberle, 43, of Marlton, N.J., and student Mark Sorey, 44, of Burlington, N.J., were the only ones aboard when the single-engine plane, owned by a New Jersey flight school, went down shortly before noon off the Yonkers city pier. The pair were pulled from the 50-degree water by New York City police and Coast Guard divers who jumped into the river from hovering rescue helicopters, which then lifted the victims by basket and flew them to a Bronx hospital. Both were reported in stable condition, suffering from hypothermia, at Jacobi Medical Center, New York Police Department spokesman Detective John Sweeney said.

Mr. Sorey was flying the Piper Arrow 28 south along the river when the engine suddenly quit, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said.

“The instructor took over the controls and the student got on the radio, declared an emergency and a mayday,” Mr. Peters said.

A Delta Air Lines pilot who heard the distress call notified a control tower, which had the plane on radar, Mr. Peters said. The emergency call triggered an immediate search for the aircraft.

The two helicopters, which responded separately from Brooklyn and Atlantic City, N.J., were on the scene “very fast, and the divers were in the water very fast, and survival is very much related to that,” Yonkers police emergency services Captain Frank Messar said.

The victims were in the water about 15 to 20 minutes, he said.

– Associated Press

SCHUMER WARNS OF HOLIDAY REBATE SCAMS

Post-holiday shoppers taking advantage of enticing rebate offers should watch out for scams, Senator Schumer said yesterday. Although as many as 400 million rebates worth a total of $6 billion are offered each year, nearly half are never received, Mr. Schumer said, citing industry figures. The mail-in rebates, he said, are deceptive, require extensive documentation, or are just plain ignored by consumers.

“This is the post-Christmas bait-and-switch,” Mr. Schumer said. “People go into stores with the promise of getting money back, and months later they still haven’t seen checks.” The senator called on the Federal Trade Commission to standardize rebate policy and make it easier for consumers to redeem the offers.

– Special to the Sun

CITYWIDE

WOMAN RAPED AT EAST SIDE BAR DURING NEW YEAR’S PARTY

An 18-year-old woman was raped inside the bathroom of an East Side bar while attending a New Year’s Eve bash, police officials said.

At about 50 minutes into the New Year on Sunday, while attending a private party at the Carriage House Bar, at 219 E. 59th St., between Second and Third avenues, the woman passed out, allegedly under the influence of liquor and cocaine, police sources said. When she came to, the woman realized she was naked and having sexual intercourse with a man in the bathroom, the authorities said. Although sources said the suspect was a partygoer, it was not immediately clear whether the woman knew her attacker.

Seemingly unaware that a crime was occurring, a bouncer allegedly separated the man and woman, simply telling them to get dressed. She then told a friend she had been raped, police officials said. The friend took the woman to Lenox Hill Hospital via taxicab, and then he allegedly returned to the bar and attempted to restrain the suspect. It was not entirely clear why the friend was unable to hold onto the suspect until police came, but the suspect may have struck the man and fled.

Police shut down the party and issued summonses for serving the victim and other minors, police sources said.

The Carriage House did not respond to requests for comment.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun