Plane crashes in Hudson River in NYC

[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!

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.