Crash Landing In The Hudson River

[PigDogg]

Great pilot and crew!!!!

Geese got sucked into the engine.

[katoeylover]

All 155 safe. Amazing...

[katoeylover]

A US airliner on a domestic flight with at least 152 people aboard has crashed into the Hudson River in New York City but with no loss of life.

All 148 passengers and the crew of at least four were rescued from the sinking plane, the US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.

The US Airways Airbus A320 crashed just after taking off from LaGuardia Airport heading for Charlotte, North Carolina.

Officials believe the plane may have collided with a flock of birds.

"There is no indication that the incident is security-related," a homeland security official told the BBC.

Rescue boats plucked passengers, who could be seen wearing life jackets, from the wings of the plane.

US Airways said it was confirming passenger and crew names from Flight 1549 and would issue them as soon as possible. It also gave an emergency number for people who believe they may have had relatives on the flight: 1-800-679-8215.

Three minutes

Flight 1549 departed LaGuardia at 1503 local time (2003 GMT), after a delay of 18 minutes, the airline said.


It made a pretty big splash when it landed on the water
Onlooker
In pictures: New York plane crash
'We knew we were going down'

It is believed the plane had been in the air for three minutes after take-off when it crashed, said a spokeswoman for the US Federal Aviation Authority, Laura Brown.

One passenger told CNN: "A couple of minutes after taking off we heard a loud bang, the plane shook a bit and immediately we could smell smoke and fire."

A man who witnessed the crash told ABC that the pilots' efforts had helped ensure a relatively soft landing on the water.

"From my window I saw the plane was coming down below the radar zone..." he said.

"As it got closer to the water I saw the pilot, he made a last-ditch effort to try to gain altitude.

"And he did that for a few seconds and then the plane just came down and plopped on the water. Had he not done that he would have damaged the fuselage."

Another man who witnessed the crash told the BBC that the crash had seemed like a scene from a film.

"It looked crazy, it looked like a movie, it looked like a movie, it was incredible," he said.

"It made a pretty big splash when it landed on the water."

Bird strike theory

The FAA said eyewitnesses had reported that the plane "may have flown into a flock of birds".

The airliner in the Hudson River shortly after the crash (image taken by BBC News website reader in New York)

"Right now we don't have any indication this was anything other than an accident," Ms Brown said.

Joe Mazzone, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot, told the Associated Press it was not unusual for birds to strike planes and when planes get ready to take off, if there are birds in the area, the tower will alert the crew.

"They literally just choke out the engine and it quits," Mr Mazzone said.

[SamplerDoc]

Amazing they all lived....all 150 folks and 5 crew.
The geese, well the whole flock is dead.
If you saw the live coverage, the jet is still floating some 4 hours later, amazing

[sev7en]

(PigDogg @ Jan. 16 2009,04:06) Great pilot and crew!!!!    

Geese got sucked into the engine.

Great finding, pd

[SamplerDoc]

Are you kidding? Its on every news station and internet news site in the world.  The three blind mice even got word.
Great post tho 7 it adds

[Road Runner]

I understand it's not easy to bring a large aircraft down successfully onto water.

As Eric Moody (an ex-BA pilot) said:- "Whoever has flown it has done a very good job."

RR.

[Stogie]

Pics...

[Stogie]

Pics...

[Stogie]

Pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III safely ditched his striken aircraft...

[rxpharm]

Definitely a great job - water landings with jets most often end in loss of life.

Sounds like the pilot may have been able to execute a "perfect stall" just before hitting the water - resulting in the safe evacuation of the passengers and crew.

[SamplerDoc]

I'm sure the Pilot feels honored to be posted on a LB site

Anyway, he was amazing to have landed that plane in one piece too and no deaths

[allstar88]

3 cheers for the pilot      

[jimslim]

One of the most amazing things I've seen , the pilot is a hero

[donnnnnny]

(rxpharm @ Jan. 16 2009,15:11) Definitely a great job - water landings with jets most often end in loss of life.

Sounds like the pilot may have been able to execute a "perfect stall" just before hitting the water - resulting in the safe evacuation of the passengers and crew.

A perfect stall??? i thought he had lost both engines and all power due to the bird strike??? did i miss something here???
the pilot is a bloody hero well done to him