Pilot Lands US Airways Jet in the Hudson River, and All 155 People Aboard Survive
NEW YORK, Jan.
By Sana Whitfield, Culture, Science & Life
· 2 min read
At a glance
- •Flight 1549, an Airbus A320, had taken off from LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, N.C.
- •Passenger Jeff Kolodjay, of Norwalk, Conn., said the engine blew and there was fire and a smell of gas.
- •Bank of America said 23 of its employees were on the flight, and all were safe.
- •The Hudson runs along some of the most crowded blocks in the country, and the plane came down in freezing water in the middle of a winter afternoon.
The short answer
NEW YORK, Jan. 15 - A US Airways jet carrying 155 people made an emergency landing in the Hudson River off Manhattan on Thursday afternoon, and everyone aboard was rescued. Flight 1549, an Airbus A320, had taken off from LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, N.C. It lost power in both engines a few minutes later. Pilots' union officials said the captain reported two bird strikes to air traffic controllers.
NEW YORK, Jan. 15 - A US Airways jet carrying 155 people made an emergency landing in the Hudson River off Manhattan on Thursday afternoon, and everyone aboard was rescued.
Flight 1549, an Airbus A320, had taken off from LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, N.C. It lost power in both engines a few minutes later. Pilots' union officials said the captain reported two bird strikes to air traffic controllers. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating reports of a bird strike. There were 150 passengers and five crew members on board.
The plane stayed afloat, and ferry boats got to it quickly. Police said the boats were able to take everyone off. Up to eight ferries and water taxis raced to the scene before police boats arrived, and police divers pulled people from the water. Vessels from New York Waterway and Circle Line were joined by Coast Guard, police and fire department boats. Dozens of people were taken to hospitals. Four went to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital with hypothermia, including a flight attendant with a fracture. The air temperature was around 21 degrees, and the water was 41.
The pilot is Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the pilot walked the length of the plane twice after everyone was off to make sure no one was left behind. "The pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out," Bloomberg said.
Gov. David Paterson was more succinct. "We've had a miracle on the Hudson," he said.
Passenger Jeff Kolodjay, of Norwalk, Conn., said the engine blew and there was fire and a smell of gas. "You gotta give it to the pilot, he made a hell of a landing," he said.
Bank of America said 23 of its employees were on the flight, and all were safe.
Why it matters: The Hudson runs along some of the most crowded blocks in the country, and the plane came down in freezing water in the middle of a winter afternoon. An outcome with everyone alive is rare enough that the governor reached for the word miracle. Bloomberg said there was "absolutely no" indication of terrorism, and the Department of Homeland Security said the same.
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to New York, scheduled to arrive Thursday evening. The board will investigate the cause.
Sources
- 01Plane ditches in Hudson River, all aboard are safe, Mail & Guardian (Reuters)mg.co.za
- 02US Airways Flight 1549, Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Corrections
No corrections have been made to this article.
About the reporter
Culture, Science & Life Reporter, Trestlewire
I started a science blog in 2005, back when that was a slightly embarrassing thing to admit at parties, mostly to complain about how badly sleep studies got summarized in the papers. It turned into a job. I have been writing about culture and the science of everyday life ever since, through the arrival of social media, the smartphone, the wellness boom, and roughly four hundred viral productivity hacks.
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