Westbrook - Late Saturday afternoon, Albert Sheehy found himself being called "Sully."

These days, that's a rather big compliment for a pilot.

Sheehy, an internist from Cross River, N.Y., was flying a Piper Cherokee from Block Island to Danbury when the engine died. Knowing he had four or five minutes of glide time, Sheehy said, he quickly weighed his options.

He wouldn't make it to the closest airport. The highway was full of traffic. And there was swampland and houses all around.

"So I had no engine any longer and I was now a glider," Sheehy said. "A 2,000-pound glider."

There was only one viable option, Sheehy, 77, said.

He maneuvered the plane at "glide speed" - as slowly as possible - keeping its nose up so the tail could hit the water first. The plane crashed in shallow water in Long Island Sound at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, remaining intact.

"I didn't even hit my head on the panel," Sheehy said, still sounding disbelieving close to two hours later.

The landing was reminiscent of US Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger safely landing a passenger jet in the Hudson River in January using much the same technique.

A man on a Jet Ski immediately met Sheehy, who said he walked from the wing of the plane onto the Jet Ski without touching the water. Later, on land, onlookers kept commenting on how remarkable it was that Sheehy was completely dry.

Sheehy's emergency landing ended up being a crash in more ways than one: It happened in the water in front of the Westbrook Elks Club, where a wedding reception was scheduled to take place.

Donald and Susan Mikalsen of Lyme were married at the Ray of Light animal-rescue farm in Haddam earlier Saturday afternoon and had planned a grand entrance by water for their reception.

Bewildered wedding guests, not quite sure what was happening, began showing up at the club about an hour after the crash and ended up mingling with police, Sea Tow crews, curious onlookers and Sheehy.

Upon learning that all was well, they popped champagne and started to look out for the bride and groom's arrival. The couple had learned of the crash earlier, Susan Mikalsen said, and were relieved to hear there were no injuries.

The Mikalsens, their maiden of honor and best man arrived by skiff to raucous applause, and - with a backdrop of the Sound, rescue and tow boats and Sheehy's half-submerged plane - raised champagne glasses.

"We actually told him he could fly in for the wedding - but I thought he had a sea plane," Donald Mikalsen joked.

k.crompton@theday.com