Just a few weeks ago, I was on a passenger vessel sailing up the Swan River from Fremantle to Perth, WA. The guy who was doing the commentary for we tourists said that where the river opened up to a big basin at Perth the water was only a metre and a half deep and had been designated as an alternatíve landing area for any plane with problems, like undercarriage failure, instead of trying to land at Perth airport. Little did I think something very similar would occur in NY within days.