SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon was involved in a helicopter crash landing off Gilgo Beach in Long Island, New York, on Wednesday morning. And while the controlled emergency landing had triggered a major emergency response, McMahon and his still-unidentified companion were found uninjured and in good shape during the rescue operation.
According to a report from NBC New York, the Robinson R44 helicopter carrying the 47-year-old McMahon and another person had gone down in the water , approximately a half-mile offshore, at around 10:25 a.m. Federal Aviation Administration officials quoted in the report said that the helicopter’s pilot made a Mayday call before the crash landing, after which FAA controllers were notified. Both passengers, including WWE on-air authority figure Shane McMahon, hit the water after the helicopter crash landed, but they had life vests on at the time of their rescue. Neither Shane nor his companion was injured.
A separate report from ABC 7 New York noted that the helicopter is registered to White Plains, New York-based company Awesome Flight LLC.
Although the FAA referred to this morning’s incident as a crash, NBC New York pointed out that the Robinson R44 chopper was not actually submerged as it rested on pontoons; the helicopter is designed to land in the water. Still, there have been 221 crashes linked to the Robinson R44 since 1993, with 203 recorded fatalities in connection to these events, according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Shane McMahon was one of two people rescued after helicopter makes crash landing in water https://t.co/OqjWAdSNwn pic.twitter.com/mdGmJZkLr6
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 19, 2017
I’d like to thank the man upstairs for looking out this morning & thanks to pilot Mario, Suffolk Co. Marine Bureau & Fire Island Coast Guard
— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) July 19, 2017
On the heels of this morning’s close call, Shane McMahon commented on the near-helicopter crash in a Twitter post, where he offered his thanks to “the man upstairs,” as well as to the helicopter pilot, and the marine officials who had helped rescue him and his fellow passenger.
Although there’s nothing to laugh about when the chopper you’re riding in comes so close to actually crashing, some wrestling personalities have chosen their own lighthearted, wrestling-specific ways to express relief that Shane McMahon is safe and sound. These include references to McMahon’s penchant for extremely high-risk maneuvers during his occasional appearances as an in-ring competitor, as seen in the following tweets from Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks and former ECW, WWE, and TNA wrestler Tommy Dreamer.
Wrestling prepares you for everything That’s why @shanemcmahon survived helicopter crash #bigbumps I also think he is a vampire btw
— Tommy Dreamer (@THETOMMYDREAMER) July 19, 2017
Likewise, some fans have joked that McMahon, whose daredevil stunts have included a leap from the top of the Hell in a Cell steel cage at WrestleMania 32 , may have been working on another wild “bump.”
Dear @shanemcmahon , Just because Wednesday’s hashtag is #TravelWoes doesn’t mean you have to give us fresh material. Hell of a bump kid
— WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) July 19, 2017
Of course Shane McMahon survived a plane crash. He’s been diving off things his entire life. Glad he’s okay. #SDLive #Raw #WWE
— Jason Burke (@jayburke) July 19, 2017
As of this writing, the FAA is still investigating the circumstances behind the helicopter’s crash landing, though a Coast Guard official on scene told NBC New York that the chopper may have had “some sort of mechanical issue.”
[Featured Image by WWE]
