Plane crashes in Hudson River in NYC

[DavidMn]

I'm watching it right now on the news. They said it's about a 70 seat US Airways commiter jet that landed/crashed in the waters of the Hudson. They showed people standing on the wings of the plane. It looks like the people are being rescued, but its too hard to tell right now. UsAirways flight 1549, a 737 with 146 passengers.

[paleshadow]

I'm watching it right now on the news. They said it's about a 70 seat US Airways commiter jet that landed/crashed in the waters of the Hudson. They showed people standing on the wings of the plane. It looks like the people are being rescued, but its too hard to tell right now. UsAirways flight 1549, a 737 with 146 passengers.

Local news is saying "no fatalities" reported. Caused by a flock of birds shortly after take off. I can't even imagine. They were showing the people being brought to shore and lots of them were smiling and running up the ramp. I don't think I'd be able to smile yet, and I wouldn't be able to run because I am certain I'd have a load in my pants. Thank goodness no one was hurt!

[Villavic]

. Thank goodness no one was hurt!

I'm wathcing photos in a local newspaper website. It's incredible!!!
Hope everybody is still fine!

http://www.elcomercio.com.pe/ediciononline/html/2009-01-15/ultimo-minuto-avion-comercial-146-personas-bordo-cayo-al-rio-hudson-nueva-york.html

CNN:
The pilot tried to return to the airport when the plane fell into the Hudson, the Times reported. The Times said it was below 20 degrees in New York at the time the plane went down.

A couple of minutes after takeoff, "we just heard a loud bang," Panero said.

"The plane shook a bit and ... you could smell smoke and fire and immediately the plane started turning," Panero said. "All of a sudden, the captain came on and said, 'Brace for landing,' and that's when we knew we were going down."

The plane approached the water at a gradual angle and made a big splash, according to a witness watching from an office building.

"It wasn't going particularly fast. It was a slow contact with the water that it made," said the witness, Ben Vonklemperer.

"It appeared not to have landing gear engaged. This was bigger than a puddle-jumper or sea plane. It was a silver aircraft and it basically just hit the water," Vonklemperer added.

[DavidMn]

I thought at first it was one of those crop-dusters, but like I said turns out it was a 737, which makes the fact that it landed on the water without major incident even more remarkable!

[bucklind17]

I thought at first it was one of those crop-dusters, but like I said turns out it was a 737, which makes the fact that it landed on the water without major incident even more remarkable!

Especially since if it hadn't landed in the water, it certainly would have had to crash land in New Jersey or Manhattan, likely into buildings/people. It's really rather amazing that the pilot was able to think clearly enough to emergency land where the minimal amount of damage would be caused, and that every person on that plane was able to be brought to safety within an hour of landing.

I work in mid-town Manhattan and the crash happened about 6 blocks west from my building, in the 50s. Half an hour later, friends who work down by 14th Street were reporting that the fuselage was floating by. Crazy current!

[Zombie]

Yikes, that's scary...especially 'cos I have to fly in & out of LaGuardia this weekend. :eek:

Kudos to that pilot for having his wits about him like that, and it's really amazing that no one was hurt.

[Villavic]

. It's really rather amazing that the pilot was able to think clearly enough to emergency land where the minimal amount of damage would be caused, and that every person on that plane was able to be brought to safety within an hour of landing.


Pilots are well taught to do that, they are extremely conscious they have to look for the less populated lands. And I think they have emotional tests, too, though the actual experience obviously is far differente from any flight simulator.

Pilot were also lucky too, most of times in those situations, the plane does not response like they want

[snoot]

Skill and cool-headedness is right. Amen to happy endings!

And I say AMEN again. :thumbsup:

[HejiraNYC]

That does it- I'm only flying out of Newark from now on! :angel:

[snoot]

Pilot were also lucky too, most of times in those situations, the plane does not response like they want

That's exactly right, only sometimes you have to make your luck. A cool head and steady hand is sometimes all the luck you'll need. Just ask those >> lucky << passengers.

[jbrownsjr]

Talk about having a new vision of life... I'm so happy for those passangers.... finally some bad news gone good..... :)

[Villavic]

I've never experienced something like that, but I'm sure and I agree it definitely gives you a new vision of life. I'm happy there were no fatal victims.

And, I was checking the flight path in it is really scary! If the plane would have failed worse, it could have crashed on an urban zone, and this would have been a major tragedy, like de American A. that crashed few months after sep 11 (Queens or Brooklyn? can't remember.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/imjustsayin/3201623730/

And obviously people that saw the plane were scared about another "sep 11"! Anyway, thanks God it ended well

[snoot]

Then to clear that bridge @ 350 feet and falling -- friggen amazing. :thumbsup:

[Ghost_Tracker]

It turns out that there is now video surveillance footage available on the cnn site:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/17/usair.splash.video/index.html

One of the most amazing things I've seen in some time.

They say that the NTSB is going to use data and other information from this; in order to find out what went - thank God - right. . . .

My Dad used to own two single-engine Cessnas, and I've lived right next to an airport all my life, so I know a little bit about flying, and in my opinion there's at least two noticeable things that the pilot did right. The first is that he had the nose up right before he went in. The second is that he didn't fight it when it was time to go down - he coasted above the water for a short time, and then when it began to fall he didn't fight it - he let it go down naturally without trying to make any last minute "panic changes." That let it go down naturally and relatively smoothly. It reminds me of a great line from the movie "Executive Decision" - the amateur pilot keeps asking, "What am I forgetting? What am I forgetting?" and eventually the stewardess tells him, "Who CARES! FLY THE PLANE!"
i.m.o. the pilot did exactly that - he didn't "over-think" it or try to over-control it. At any rate, *whatever* he did, he did it right, and i.m.o. he really is a hero.

[desertangel]

I wonder how long it was from the time the pilot made the decision to land in the Hudson to the time they touched water. I read one account of a crew member who said everything happend so quickly there was no time to pull the vents lever. Apparently the crew can pull a lever that closes off all the vents in the plane. This is so it won't take on so much water that it sinks like a rock. That might explain why they said the pilot was waist high in the water walking the isle after landing. If that's true the plane stayed amazingly bouyant, considering. Sure hope we get more details as time goes on. It's a fabulous story!

[snoot]

As the story goes, some 90 seconds after takeoff the aircraft apparently struck two large packs of geese, then immediately began wheeling around and descending once the engines flamed out. Four minutes later they were touching down in the Hudson river at approximately 125 miles per hour.

By all accounts, it does appear the crew overlooked activating the ditch switch during the affair. But fortunately, without suffering serious structural damage due to the skillful landing, the plane did not quickly fill with water, so the pilot was able to walk the entire aisle, twice, checking for any passengers who may have been left behind. As the Mayor of New York rightfully said, that entire 5 person crew pulled off a masterful job from beginning to end. Likewise the NYC emergency responders and passenger ferries in coming to their aid as quickly as they did.

The last time I recall of a successful glide maneuver of this magnitude (dual engine flameout, with no airport close enough to land at) was from a South American pilot named Carlos Dardano and his eagle eye flight officer who landed their crippled plane on a levee embankment in New Orleans some 20 years ago with less than 3 minutes of flight time available. The crew's initial plan was to ditch the aircraft on a waterway they targeted, but the levee presented itself at the last moment as an alternative go-to. Captain Dardano is something of a legend, as it was the second time he had saved his passengers from an emergency. The first time was somewhere over his native El Salvador when the commercial airliner he was piloting was shot at by rebels on the ground. He took a bullet in the face but kept flying the plane until he could land it safely. A true cowboy in the air, famous for the dark shades he's known to wear. What a stud! :cool:

US Air Captain Sullenberger is an old PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines) pilot, the now defunct airline often remembered for their airliner that struck a Cessna on a bright, sunny morning in San Diego back in 1978. Seconds later, both aircraft crashed into the north of the city, resulting in no survivors and many homes destroyed. The good news is, from those ashes of yesteryear arose a Phoenix on the Hudson in 2009!

Thanks to Villavic for that map, and Tracker for the amazing video footage.

[Mad4stevie]

US Air Captain Sullenberger is an old PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines) pilot, the now defunct airline often remembered for their airliner that struck a Cessna on a bright, sunny morning in San Diego back in 1978. Seconds later, both aircraft crashed into the north of the city, resulting in no survivors and many homes destroyed. The good news is, from those ashes of yesteryear arose a Phoenix on the Hudson in 2009!

I didn't know he was a former PSA pilot. I knew he flew in the Air Force and had been with US Airways more than 20 years. I have seen photos and heard the CVR of the PSA crash - scary stuff indeed.

My fiance is a commercial airline pilot and we often have conversations about airline incidents, both fatal and non-fatal. He knew one of the pilots that took off on the too short runway back in August 2006, and his explanation of that situation makes me realize that we (the public) know so little about what really happens in these situations.

[snoot]

I didn't know he was a former PSA pilot. I knew he flew in the Air Force and had been with US Airways more than 20 years. I have seen photos and heard the CVR of the PSA crash - scary stuff indeed.

Right, that's because US Air purchased PSA in the late 80's. Sullenberger joined PSA just after that famous crash.

Heather you are so right about reviewing CVR recordings or transcriptions. They are NOT for the feint of heart, or anyone who take to the skies uneasily! Beyond that, most of the ones that are made public are of just the worst incidents. Think how many - no doubt equally compelling - never get released since the outcomes do not result in disaster or loss of life. Yes, scary stuff indeed.

My fiance is a commercial airline pilot and we often have conversations about airline incidents, both fatal and non-fatal. He knew one of the pilots that took off on the too short runway back in August 2006, and his explanation of that situation makes me realize that we (the public) know so little about what really happens in these situations.

Quite true. Pilots and navigators are paid handsomely due to the responsibilities of having others entrusted to their care. One tiny wrong move, one monetary lapse, can often spell disaster. It's a flat out miracle more incidents along these lines don't happen, and a credit to the airliner industry on the whole that its overall safety record is as outstanding as it is. But as we both know, it only takes one tiny miscalculation or uncontrolled mishap - like some bloody birds! - and everything can go up in smoke in the blink of an eye.

I remember reading of an Air Canada flight years ago where the First Officer inadvertently deployed the spoilers only 50 feet or so above the runway during an otherwise routine landing, causing the aircraft to fall like a led balloon, resulting in the loss an engine upon hitting the tarmac. The pilot attempted an emergency TOGA [Take Off, Go Around] but eventually stalled the craft due to a lack of power, right about the time one of the wings was falling off the plane from an ensuing engine fire. It was sad as heck to hear the co-pilot apologizing over and over as they tried to right his wrong from that one tiny but critical lapse: "Sorry, so sorry, Pete!" [Pete being the captain].

There's another incident where the last words spoken on the CVR are from the Flight Engineer, realizing the peril they were in after a series of mistakes were made by the pilot while attempting to land in fog, and the emergency "Pull up!" alarms were going off: "That's it, I'm dead" he says. Seconds later he was, along with the rest of the crew and hundreds of passengers.

We can only rejoice in the fact that these incidences are relatively isolated. I wish your fiancé well. That's a noble and proud profession, one that demands the utmost responsibility.