BREAKING NEWS: US Airways plane crashes into Hudson river

[Concord]

The pilot did one hell of a job landing that big boy. (Airbus A320) People that saw it said it landed like as if it was landing on a runway.

Just goes to show you how awesome those pilots are in situations like this.

Obviously, that Airbus isn't a Piper Cub in terms of maneuverability.

Great job...that pilot is a hero.

No question.

I like what one passenger said were his only words..."Prepare for Impact"

:laugh2:

Nice job.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

They're probably pretty relieved now, but having had experience in water below 50 degrees, I can assure you they didn't have many thoughts beyond how excruciating the water temps were while they were waiting on the wings. That **** is COLD!

Those people were probably in shock or having such an adrenaline rush that the cold probably did not even bother them for a short time.

If the low number of people being treated is correct anyways. Cause as cold as it is and sitting in the middle of a body of water you would think more would be getting treatment.

 

[kmp77]

Bigger picture. All I know is that pilot is a bad mother f...SHUT YO MOUTH! I'm just talking about that pilot!

 

[DallasCowpoke]

If this does in-fact turn out to be a double engine bird strike as they're reporting, I'll bet you $s-2-doughnuts, PETA condemns the airlines for negligence inside a week.

 

[Route 66]

Thank God that plane stayed afloat as long as it did.

 

[Route 66]

This crash reminded me of the Potomac crash back in '82 or so.

 

[xWraithx]

No question.

I like what one passenger said were his only words..."Prepare for Impact"

:laugh2:

Nice job.

lol...

his only words: "Uh oh guys, this one's gonna hurt."

 

[brickman]

Thank God everyone survived!

 

[kristie]

i'm just glad the people on that plane were OK. at least i hope they're OK.

 

[WoodysGirl]

In this case, the landing and quick response of rescuers appear to have worked in the favor of survivors. Says Weiner: "It seemed like the plane was really in control as it came into the river. It was almost as if the river was like the runway. It was approaching it like it was a runway until it hit the water, and then you didn't know what to expect. Thank God it stayed in one piece and just slid along its belly." At a press conference soon after the incident, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the plane's pilot Chesley Sullenberger, 57, who used to fly F-4 aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, walked up and down the aisle twice to make sure no one was left on the plane.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599187215000

Hudson River hero is ex-Air Force fighter pilot
By Amy Westfeldt, Associated Press Writer – 42 mins ago

NEW YORK – The pilot who guided a crippled US Airways jetliner safely into the Hudson River — saving all 155 people aboard — became an instant hero Thursday, with accolades from the mayor and governor and a fan club online.

The pilot of Flight 1549 was Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, 57, of Danville, Calif., an official familiar with the accident told The Associated Press. Sullenberger is a former fighter pilot who runs a safety consulting firm in addition to flying commercial aircraft.

Sullenberger, who has flown for US Airways since 1980, flew F-4 fighter jets with the Air Force in the 1970s. He then served on a board that investigated aircraft accidents and participated later in several National Transportation Safety Board investigations.

Sullenberger had been studying the psychology of keeping airline crews functioning even in the face of crisis, said Robert Bea, a civil engineer who co-founded UC Berkeley's Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.

Bea said he could think of few pilots as well-situated to bring the plane down safely than Sullenberger.

"When a plane is getting ready to crash with a lot of people who trust you, it is a test.. Sulley proved the end of the road for that test. He had studied it, he had rehearsed it, he had taken it to his heart."

Sullenberger is president of Safety Reliability Methods, a California firm that uses "the ultra-safe world of commercial aviation" as a basis for safety consulting in other fields, according to the firm's Web site.

Sullenberger's mailbox at the firm was full on Thursday. A group of fans sprang up on Facebook within hours of the emergency landing.

"OMG, I am terrified of flying but I would be happy to be a passenger on one of your aircraft!!" Melanie Wills in Bristol wrote on the wall of "Fans of Sully Sullenberger." "You have saved a lot of peoples lives and are a true hero!!"

The pilot "did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off, and tried to verify that there was nobody else on board, and he assures us there was not."

"He was the last one up the aisle and he made sure that there was nobody behind him."

Gov. David Paterson pronounced it a "miracle on the Hudson."

A woman who answered the phone at Sullenberger's home in Danville hung up on a reporter who asked to speak with the family.

Candace Anderson, a member of the Danville town council who lives a few blocks from Sullenberger, said it was an amazing story and she was proud to live in the same town as the pilot.

"You look at his training, you look at his experience. It was just the right pilot at the right time in charge of that plane that saved so many lives," Anderson said. "He is a man who is calm, cool, collected, just as he was today."

Sullenberger's co-pilot was Jeff Skiles, 49, of Oregon, Wis., a 23-year US Airways veteran.

"He was OK," said his wife, Barbara. "He was relieved that everybody got off."

___

Associated Press writers Haven Daley in Danville, Calif., Lisa Leff in San Francisco, Colleen Long and researcher Susan James in New York contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090116/ap_on_re_us/plane_in_river_pilot

 

[ZeroClub]

Quite a story.

What caused the plane to go down?

 

[WoodysGirl]

Quite a story.

What caused the plane to go down?

Birds flew into the engines and shut them down.

 

[kristie]

Birds flew into the engines and shut them down.

wow!

 

[ZeroClub]

The response on the ground / river was amazingly efficient.

Talk about your flawless emergency response!

And how fortunate that the plane didn't hit anything on the way down (helicopters, boats, etc.).

 

[burmafrd]

One in a million that both engines would get taken out by bird strikes. One in a billion that a pilot particularly qualified to get her down safely was at the controls.

 

[bbgun]

Shortly after ditching:

 

[peplaw06]

This is such an amazing story. Can't wait to talk to my bro-in-law pilot about this.

Wonder how long it will be before we see a vid on youtube.

 

[Yeagermeister]

This is such an amazing story. Can't wait to talk to my bro-in-law pilot about this.

Wonder how long it will be before we see a vid on youtube.

No kidding......someone has to have the video

 

[5Stars]

How come the plane did not sink? Or did it eventually? I have not been keeping up with CNN news.

 

[ZeroClub]

How come the plane did not sink? Or did it eventually? I have not been keeping up with CNN news.

I don't know anything about airplanes, but I did hear two reasons reported on CNN.

First, apparently the plane was full of jet fuel, which weighs less than water, thus making the plane more buoyant.

Two - That plane is equipped with some sort of system that seals ports located on the bottom portion of the plane so that water will not come in.

(... and, of course, the other obvious reason is that the plane did not break up when it hit the water.)