Jan 16 2009
US Airways plane down in New York`s Hudson River
January 16, 2009
Reporting from Los Angeles and New York — A US Airways plane made an emergency landing into the icy waters of the Hudson River today, and the pilot was being called a hero for keeping about 155 passengers and crew alive after his craft was forced down moments after takeoff from New York City.
The cause of the crash will be investigated, city, state and federal officials said, but early reports indicated the plane may have hit some birds, causing its engines to lose power.
“We’ve had our miracle on 34th Street,” New York Gov. David Paterson told a televised news conference this evening. “Now we’ve had a miracle on the Hudson.”
“This pilot somehow, without any engines, was able to land this plane and perhaps without any serious injuries to the passengers,” he said.
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg praised the pilot as well.
“It would appear the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure everybody got out,” the mayor said. “I had a long conversation with the pilot, and he said he walked the plane twice after everybody was off to verify nobody else was on board.”
US Airways Flight 1549 was en route to Charlotte, N.C., when it lost power after takeoff from Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport about 3:26 p.m. EST, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown.
The craft, an Airbus 320, took a left turn, then crashed into the river after three minutes into the flight.
“Indications are that there was a large flock of birds in the area,” Brown said. Officials will investigate whether the plane hit the birds, disabling the engines and forcing the plane into a controlled crash.
Witnesses praised the pilot for bringing down the plane safely, and passengers repeatedly said they were alive because of his skill.
“Wow! And thank the Lord and thank the pilot. I can’t believe he somehow managed to land that plane safely,” passenger Alberto Panero told CNN.
“It was near-death experience,” he said. “Thankfully, it didn’t turn out that way.”
In a brief statement he read to the media, US Airways Chairman and Chief Executive Doug Parker said that the plane was carrying 155 passengers, including two pilots and three flight attendants.
Some passengers were taken to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan and others to Palisades Medical Center in New Jersey for treatment. The extent of the injuries was unknown, but hypothermia could be a concern.
According to a WNBC-TV meteorologist, the air temperature was about 20 degrees when the plane went down. The water temperature was between 35 degrees and 43 degrees.
Shortly after the plane hit the water, commuter ferries crossing the Hudson rushed to the scene and began plucking shivering passengers from the wings of the downed jet.
“We were just going home to Jersey,” said one rescuer who would only give his first name, Jim. The 40-year-old man, a resident of Belmar, N.J., was on the first ferry to reach the jetliner.
“They were pretty calm,” he said of the passengers. “They just wanted to get out of the water. Everybody looked like they were in pretty good shape. They were thanking us. We were just worried about getting them on the boat.”
Jim’s wife, Susan, 39, said she was astounded to see the plane just floating on the water.
“We just didn’t believe what we were seeing,” she said. “They were just standing on the wings waiting for us to pick them up.”
By Geraldine Baum and Michael Muskal
Los Angeles Times
