At around 3:24pm on the 15th of January, 2009, US Airways flight 1549 took off from New York
City's La Guardia airport, bound for Charlotte in North Carolina. Mere minutes after takeoff,
however, the plane suffered a bird strike, which resulted in the loss of power in both engines.
With 155 people on board, the pilots of flight 1549 were left with no choice. They would have
to attempt an intensely dangerous emergency landing in the only place they could reach:
New York City's Hudson River.
On the day of the incident, flight 1549 was being captained by 57-year-old
Chesley Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot with almost 20,000 flight hours to his name.
Joining him in the cockpit was First Officer Jeffrey Skiles,
a 49-year-old with a similar number of total flight hours, but who had not previously had the
opportunity to pilot an Airbus A320. Skiles took control of the plane for takeoff. Visibility was
good - so good, indeed, that the pilots remarked on it as the plane lifted up into the sky.
The cockpit voice recorder captured their interaction.
"What a view of the Hudson today," said Captain Sullenberger to First Officer Skiles.
Little more than 30 seconds after that comment, the fortunes of flight 1549 changed dramatically.
As it continued to climb towards cruising altitude the plane crossed paths with a
flock of Canada geese, several of which were sucked into the engines.
Captain Sullenberger had time to utter just a single word - "birds" - before impact.
A series of loud bangs were followed by an eerie silence. Both engines,
the pilots swiftly realized, had ingested at least one bird each and simultaneously failed.
As the smell of aviation fuel filled the aircraft, Captain Sullenberger took control of the plane,
while First Officer Skiles rapidly worked through a checklist in an attempt to remedy the engine
failure. For a brief few moments the plane continued to climb, carried by inertia... then,
inevitably, it entered a downward glide from which there would be no recovery. As he wrestled
to control the descent of the plane Captain Sullenberger used the radio to inform Air Traffic
Control of what had happened. Air Traffic Control offered him clearance to return to La Guardia,
but Captain Sullenberger declined, realizing that it was too far away.
An alternative runway at Teterboro Airport was offered and similarly declined,
with Captain Sullenberger only able to spare enough time for a single word response: "Unable."
It dawned on the Captain at this point in time that no airport was within reach
of the stricken aircraft. Attempts to restart the engines had failed.
They were without power over New York City - a densely-packed urban landscape.
Only one option was left, and Captain Sullenberger shared this with Air Traffic Control in one of
his final utterances before communications cut out. "We're gonna be in the Hudson," he said.
This all took place over the course of just a few minutes.
While Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles worked frantically in the cockpit,
the passengers and flight attendants in the cabin were becoming increasingly alarmed.
They were witness to the absence of engine noise and a pervading smell of aviation fuel.
Additionally, some passengers had witnessed the initial bird strike through their windows
and now had a clear view of the damaged engines.
Captain Sullenberger, at this stage, addressed the passengers over the PA system, ordering them to
brace for impact. The cabin crew, remaining relatively calm despite the circumstances,
shouted further instructions for the passengers, prompting them to stay calm,
fasten seat belts, brace, and prepare to evacuate.
Back in the cockpit Captain Sullenberger made only one more utterance to First Officer Skiles.
"Got any ideas?" he said, as the Hudson loomed into view below.
"Actually, not," replied Skiles.
And then, without further ceremony, flight 1549 ditched into the Hudson River. The landing
was a rough one: a single impact followed by a long and dramatic deceleration. Water cascaded
over the plane which came to rest floating almost serenely on the surface of the river.
No sooner had the plane come to a halt than the crew began to evacuate passengers.
While some passengers had sustained injuries in the landing, most were able to walk. Attendants
evacuated passengers as swiftly as possible, using the front and over-wing exits.
One of the rear exits was also opened but with the rear of the plane low in the water it was
not a viable exit, and indeed hastened the sinking of the plane by allowing more water to flood in.
Passengers evacuated onto the wings and onto the inflatable slides attached to the exit doors,
which were designed to act as life rafts in the event of a water landing.
Although most passengers took one of these two routes, a small number did end up in the water,
either because they slipped and fell or because - fearing
an impending explosion - they wished to put distance between themselves and the plane.
The cabin crew helped all passengers on board to evacuate, including one wheelchair user.
Before evacuating himself, Captain Sullenberger walked the length of the
plane twice seeking anyone who might have been knocked unconscious or left behind.
While the danger from the impact of the crash was now behind them, a new hazard presented itself.
It was January and temperatures were freezing.
The passengers on the wings and slides were not dressed for cold weather and all were at
risk of hypothermia. For the few passengers in the water the danger was significantly greater.
Fortunately, help was on its way.
Two New York Waterways ferries were close by when the plane ditched in the river. They, along with
numerous other boats, converged on the downed aircraft and started taking people on board.
Those passengers who had entered the water were helped out and treated for hypothermia,
while others climbed from the wings onto the decks of the ferries using scramble nets. Again Captain
Sullenberger demonstrated great presence of mind by advising that passengers on the wings be
evacuated first. The slides could be detached from the plane as it sank, but the wings could not.
Ascertaining that nobody had been killed took a relatively long time, as passengers were rescued
by a number of different boats. 95 people were given medical treatment of some kind,
most often for hypothermia. Five further people were hospitalized, with more serious injuries.
Among the passengers and crew on board, however, there was not a single loss of life.
An investigation was launched into the incident. Ingestion of large birds into both engines was
confirmed as the root cause. Some suggestions were raised that Captain Sullenberger might have
done better to attempt a landing at either La Guardia or Teterboro, but these were dismissed
after the National Transportation Safety Board ran multiple simulations. In most cases it was found
that attempting to reach an airport would have ended in complete disaster.
Even though the ultimate outcome had been a positive one,
some lessons were still learned from the incident.
For example, the checklist supplied to pilots for use in the event of engine failure was updated,
as it was found not to be appropriate for a double engine failure at a relatively low altitude.
Passengers received a letter of apology from US Airways, and were all offered compensation.
Though everyone on board survived, the disaster did take a toll,
with many of the survivors suffering symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Captain Sullenberger emerged from the crisis a hero.
His quick thinking and calm under pressure had prevented a much worse disaster from taking place,
and had no doubt saved the lives of many, if not all, on board. He was modest about his role in the
incident, but did grant a few interviews, the very first of which went to the student paper
at his daughter's high school. He was awarded a medal of valor by the San Ramon Valley Fire
Protection District, and given a key to the city of New York, amongst other honors.
In the midst of all this attention, Captain Sullenberger called his hometown library
to apologize for having lost an item on loan from them.
The book, a non-fiction treatise on safety and accountability, had unfortunately been
left in the cockpit during evacuation of the plane, and had ended up severely waterlogged.
Graciously, the library waived all fees associated with this loss. The entire crew
of the aircraft were also recognized in a number of ways. They received a standing ovation at
that year's Super Bowl, and were inducted into the International Air and Space Hall of Fame.
The plane itself was purchased by an aviation museum in Charlotte, North Carolina - the
original destination of the fateful flight. It remains on display there to this day.
Both Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles have since retired from their work as pilots,
but still work extensively to improve standards in pilot training and airline safety.
The incident on the 15th of January, 2009, was later referred to as the most successful ditching
of a plane in history. To effect a water landing in the middle of one of the world's largest cities
without a single death is a phenomenal achievement. Every person on board when the
plane went down, lived. 155 souls who, were it not for the quick-thinking and bravery of the captain
the first officer and the crew on board, might have had a very different fate. Colliquially,
the incident involving flight 1549 is known by a different name: "The Miracle on The Hudson."