Just hours after appearing on TV as the commissioner of WWE’s Smackdown Live, Shane McMahon was involved in a horrific helicopter crash into the Atlantic Ocean.
McMahon, 47, was the passenger on the aircraft as it was flying over the waters off of Gilgo Beach in Babylon, Long Island. At some point into the short flight, pilot Mario Regtien told him to prepare for an emergency landing due to an inconspicuous noise coming from the helicopter.
The FAA told ABC 7 News that the helicopter, a Robinson R-44, landed safely into the water on its pontoon skids around 10:30 a.m. EDT.
Neither McMahon or Regtien were injured in the crash, and emergency responders arrived almost immediately on scene to pick up the two from the cold waters. Both were wearing life jackets when they were rescued.
Watch below for a video of crews rescuing McMahon and Regtien from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Hours after the ordeal, McMahon tweeted out a message of gratitude for those involved in having him walk out uninjured in the crash landing.
https://twitter.com/shanemcmahon/status/887728986616475650
Regtien, whose LinkedIn account lists him as a professional pilot for Awesome Flight, LLC., told the news media that he heard a loud noise mid-flight and it “became very clear” to him he could no longer fly and executed an emergency landing on the water.
“It’s very unsettling when all of a sudden you have something happen, you hear a bang and you start saying we’re going to do an emergency landing,” McMahon said in a press conference after the scary incident. “It’s very unnerving, but again Mario was super calm, which made me super calm and we landed perfectly.”
According to the news report, the helicopter was traveling from Westchester County Airport when another commercial flight heard the emergency call and relayed it to FAA controllers. McMahon said that he was on his way back to Manhattan via the charter flight to visit his family.
McMahon is the son of WWE’s owner, chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon.