Both Rosenberg and Pearson were incapacitated and trapped in the plane that ran the risk of catching on fire. Luckily the Cresskill Fire Department was a block away and pedestrians that saw the plane come down called 911 immediately. The emergency responders of Cresskill arrived within minutes and began to extricate both severely injured aviators from the now demolished plane. Both of the men were transported to Hackensack General Hospital in critical condition. That night the Aviators were operated on with multiple broken bones, lacerations, and other internal damage.
Pearson and Rosenberg attribute their survival to several miracles the first being the fact that the plane did not catch on fire. It is very common for a plane that has a complete engine failure due to a seized bearing to burst into flames due to the peaking oil temperature during failure of approximately 3000 degrees. The second miracle was the quick response of the pedestrians and the arrival of Police and Fire responders to give assistance.
Both Coast Guard Auxiliary members were severely injured with some permanent damage. They both agreed that their choice to sacrifice their own safety to save the civilians on the ground was the best possible option. At one point the two agreed that they could never have survived if they had injured anyone, especially a child, as they were attempting to land the plane. Both Coast Guard Auxiliarists continue to heal and hopefully will make a full recovery. Our thanks go out to the Borough of Cresskill and Bergen County for coming to the assistance of our pilots.
US Coast Guard Auxiliary photo