God was pol’s co-pilot in stricken plane
A Queens state assemblyman says he has some divine intervention to thank for the miraculous emergency landing he made on a Long Island beach Friday in his small plane.
“I’ve been blessed,” Clyde Vanel told The Post, a day after managing to safely put down on a tiny spit of sand exposed by low tide when his craft suddenly lost power.
“I don’t know why God spared me, but I guess I’m here for a reason.”
Vanel, 48, was out for a jaunt with a friend Friday when his Beechcraft’s engine lost power.
Vanel, whose 33rd District represents parts of southeast Queens, is an experienced recreational pilot who studied aviation at SUNY Farmingdale and flies every few weeks, he said.
The skies were clear when Vanel and his pal took off from Brookhaven Airport in Suffolk County, and all was fine, he said, until . . .
“We were about 10 miles from the airport . . . over the water, clear day, nice weather, nothing crazy, nothing special,” he said.
The emergency unfolded in just a few minutes, as Vanel realized his engine wasn’t getting any power.
“I knew I couldn’t get back to Brookhaven. Calverton [Executive Airpark] was a little closer, but it looked a little far. Then there was Shoreham [Nuclear Power Plant] close to me, but I wasn’t definitely sure I could make it over all the trees and houses,” he said.
Then he spotted it: a small slip of sand, usually covered up by water and now revealed at low tide.
A lone bird watcher captured Vanel’s landing on video, as he gently brought the plane down, its nose dragging along the shore before the body of the aircraft flopped down (left).
“I was so shaken up,” said Vanel, who said he couldn’t recall the exactly moment, but rushed himself and his friend out of the plane, fearing a fire. “I’m still kind of in a state of shock.”
He hopes to retrieve the damaged plane Sunday, and plans to fly again, saying aviation is “in my DNA.”
“I’m going to be speaking about training and safety much more now,” he said, crediting his training with keeping him alive.