Shane McMahon, a professional wrestler and executive at Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment who is known for leaping from great heights onto opponents, was among two men rescued after a helicopter made an emergency landing off the shore of Long Island's Gilgo Beach.

McMahon's father is WWE majority owner and CEO Vince McMahon, and his mother, Linda McMahon, is part of President Donald Trump's cabinet as the head of the federal Small Business Administration.

The younger McMahon was the passenger aboard a Robinson R 44 helicopter that had a hard landing around 10:30 a.m. He and the pilot, Mario Regtien, were both unharmed.

"It was very unnerving," McMahon says. "Mario was calm, and we landed perfectly."

Lifeguard Zak Viverito says the hard landing came down in front of the beach's main lifeguard station, which made the rescue easy.

"We never had anything like this before," Viverito says. "The training just kicked in."

A beach full of people watched as two Gilgo lifeguards launched their kayaks and raced out to the chopper as it bobbed among the Atlantic Ocean's waves about a half-mile offshore.

The lifeguards, Viverito and Don Dobby, pulled the passenger and the pilot into their kayaks, then ferried them safely to a waiting United States Coast Guard vessel. During the rescue, Viverito and Dobby say they were surprised to learn that they were pulling a famous person to safety.

"It's not something you see every day," Viverito says. "We're just glad we could respond and help out."

Josette Crean was among the beachgoers who watched the whole thing unfold from ashore.

"It was amazing -- the cheering that went on -- it was very nice," she says.

The helicopter is registered to Awesome Flight LLC out of White Plains, NY, which does private charters and tours.

Regtien, the pilot, says McMahon had chartered a flight from New York City to Westhampton in Suffolk County. He says they experienced trouble just south of Long Island MacArthur Airport.

"We heard some noise, and it became clear to me that I could no longer continue to fly," Regtien says.