The NYPD pulled off a dangerous and dramatic rescue on Sunday, dangling a detective from a helicopter in ferocious winds to rescue two West Point cadets who were freezing to death on a mountain ledge.

"It was the most dangerous thing I've ever done in the Police Department," said NYPD pilot Steve Browning, who had to inch his chopper perilously close to the cliff face amid high winds in pitch-darkness.

"A Hollywood producer could not put together the elements we had," said Emergency Service Unit Detective Christopher Condon, who swung on a rope from the chopper to rescue the cadets.

"It was the imperfect storm," he told the Daily News in an exclusive interview at his Long Island home. "It was cold. It was windy and dark. I was spinning around. It could have been bad. The winds were crazy."

The two freshman cadets who had gone to practice rappelling on Storm King Mountain got stuck on a tiny ledge about 6 p.m. on Saturday, West Point officials said.

They called 911 from a cell phone.

Eight hours later, the cadets were still stranded on the 18-inch-wide rocky ledge, clinging to a tree as winds gusted up to 50 mph and temperatures dropped below 20 degrees - or 5 degrees with the wind chill.

The cadets were wearing fatigues and inadequate fleece jackets; hypothermia quickly set in.

Rescuers managed to pinpoint their location by triangulating their cell phone signal, coming from about 500 feet up on the 1,348-foot-tall Storm King Mountain, which is about 60 miles north of the city.

The severe terrain foiled several attempts by emergency responders to reach them from the ground, according to accounts from West Point and NYPD officials.

Shortly after midnight, local officials requested help from the NYPD. An air-and-sea rescue helicopter was dispatched from the NYPD's Air Operations Heliport, arriving at the mountain about 2:10 a.m.

Browning said the cadets had slowly waved a lighted cell phone, making it easier for the helicopter crew to spot them. Infrared night vision devices quickly zeroed in on their exact location, but getting them off the mountain proved to be extremely challenging.

The NYPD pilot, former Army ace Browning, had to hover over the mountain and keep the chopper steady as it was buffeted by the high winds.

Wearing night vision goggles in the darkness, Browning had to get the chopper close enough to reach the cadets, but not so close that its rotor blades would clip the sheer cliff face.

"There was absolutely no room for error," said NYPD aviation unit Commanding Officer James Coan. "The pilot did an absolutely superb job."

He said they were flying so close to the rock face that they had to turn off the anti-collision light because it was reflecting off the mountain and becoming distracting.

Condon was lowered from the helicopter onto the narrow ledge.

"I had to hold on tight. The wind kept coming at us," he said.

"They were happy to see someone coming to get them," he added. "They were cold. But they remained pretty calm throughout the whole thing. They are cadets. They are professionals."

Condon secured one of the cadets to a rescue harness, and he was hoisted up onto the chopper.

The helicopter had to leave to drop him off while Condon remained behind in the freezing darkness with the second cadet.

Browning then flew back to scoop up Condon and the other cadet. In all, it took about 45 minutes to get everyone off the cliff, Condon said.

Both cadets were taken to a hospital on the West Point campus, where they were recovering from the effects of hypothermia.

With Joe Jackson and Meredith Kolodner

jlauinger@nydailynews.com