Agencies
New York, Jan 17: The Airbus A320, which had risen to 3,200 feet, came down the river, its fuselage lower than many apartment terraces and windows...
A US Airways jetliner with 155 people aboard lost power in both engines, possibly from striking birds, after taking off from La Guardia Airport on Thursday afternoon.
The pilot ditched in the icy Hudson River and all on board were rescued by a flotilla of converging ferries and emergency boats, the authorities said.
What might have been a catastrophe in New York was averted by a pilot’s quick thinking and deft manoeuvres, and by the nearness of rescue boats.
The Airbus A320, which had risen to 3,200 feet, came down the river, its fuselage lower than many apartment terraces and windows.
In a carefully executed touchdown shortly after 3:30 pm, the aircraft sent up huge plumes of water at midstream, between West 48th Street in Manhattan and Weehawken, New Jersey.
On board, the pilot, Che sley B Sullenberger III (57), had made a command decision to avoid densely populated areas and try for the Hudson. He had warned the passengers to brace for a hard landing. Most had their heads down as the jetliner slammed into the water, nose slightly up, just three minutes after take-off on what was to be a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Many on board and those watching from the shores were surprised that the aircraft did not sink immediately.
Instead, it floated, twisting and drifting towards south in strong currents, as three New York Waterway commuter ferries moved in. Moments later, the terrified passengers began swarming out the emergency exits into brutally cold air and onto the submerged wings of the bobbing jetliner.
As the first ferry nudged up alongside, witnesses said, some passengers were able to leap onto the decks. Others were helped aboard by ferry crews. Soon, a small armada of police boats, fireboats, tugboats and coast guard craft converged on the scene, and some of them snubbed up to keep the jetliner afloat. Helicopters brought police divers, who dropped into the water to help with the rescues.
Over the next one hour, all the passengers, including at least one baby, and both pilots and all three flight attendants, were transferred to the rescue boats. Brought ashore on both sides of the river, the survivors were taken to hospitals in Manhattan and New Jersey. Some described their survival as a miracle, a sentiment repeated later by city and state officials. Others gave harrowing accounts of an ordeal whose outcome few might have imagined.
The aircraft was later saved for examination by investigators.