Days after a small plane crashed into the Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, the aircraft remains at the bottom of the bay as the United States Coast Guard works to remove the remaining fuel that's left, the agency said Monday.
"The aircraft is reported to have 30 gallons of fuel onboard, and there has been no pollution reported," wrote the coast guard on social media.
Paul and Alysia Larson, both 48, were onboard, when the plane lost power and crashed into the Narragansett Bay close to Quonset State Airport Saturday afternoon.
The couple was able to get out of the plane and were in the water nearby, Narragansett police said. They were removed from the water and taken to Rhode Island Hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
"There was a moment where I was like, 'I'm not sure we're going to make it,'" Alysia, who was piloting the plane, told NBC affiliate WJAR. "And then I'm like, 'Nope, we're not going to die today. We're going to make it.'"
The plane they were flying belonged to Alysia's late father, she told WJAR. She said she grew up riding the aircraft as a young girl in Pennsylvania.
She credits her husband's quick thinking for surviving the crash.
"He had the foresight to unlatch and open the door before impact," said Alysia. "It may have saved our lives because you never know, if you can't get the door open against the water pressure, that would've been an entirely different scenario. And the Piper Comanche only has one door."
The cause of the crash wasn't immediately released. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will lead the investigation.
