The airhead pilot who splashed down on a Rockaways beach Monday night landed a slew of one-liners before his dramatic descent.
"Just let us know if we're up in your grill," Jason Maloney, 24, radioed to air-traffic controllers, according to an audio recording that emerged Tuesday.
In the recording, the blathering flyboy quips to flight officials as he joyrides over the city Monday night minutes before his emergency landing.
Maloney, who flew out of Republic Airport in Farmingdale, L.I., first asks for permission for an impromptu landing at Kennedy Airport, saying he's on a "medical mission."
An air-traffic control rebuffs his request, but the pilot later follows up with another doozy of a question.
"Hey tower, I got a question for you," Maloney says. "This might be crazy but are we allowed to land on the beach?"
The air traffic controller then tells him landing on a public beach would only be permissible in an emergency.
"You know what tower?" Maloney responds cheerfully. "My engine might be running a little teensy teensy bit rough."
"Do you require any assistance?" the concerned air traffic controller then asks.
"No," the puzzling pilot responds. "You know what, we should be fine, but I'm gonna make a precautionary landing."
Maloney then did just that, drawing a police response that included aviation and boats. The single-engine plane had to be towed from the surf by a police Emergency Services Unit.
The Maloney and his passengers, Clarke Oler, 22, and Chelsea Protter, 21, both of Huntington, L.I., were uninjured and were not hospitalized, officials said. But Protter threw up on the beach, police sources said.
Maloney didn't appear intoxicated and was not tested for drugs or alcohol, police sources said. He is not expected to be criminally charged.
A Federal Aviation Administration investigation could lead to Maloney's pilot certificate being suspended or revoked, and he could be fined.
FAA investigators are examining the plane to see if it had mechanical problems, an FAA spokesperson said.
Maloney was holed up Tuesday in his parents' home in Cornwall, N.Y. His father put his foot down on his son speaking to reporters.
"He's not trying to hide anything," said John Maloney, 58. "The FAA still has to complete their investigation, so I'd rather him not talk."
"There was someone sick and he felt that that was the proper thing to do to get help," the dad added.
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