Passenger plane crashes into Hudson, all survive
NEW YORK – A US Airways pilot ditched his disabled jetliner into the frigid Hudson River on Thursday afternoon after a collision with a flock of birds apparently knocked out both engines, but rescuers pulled all 155 people on board into boats as the plane sank. There were no immediate reports of any serious injuries.
Flight 1549 went down minutes after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport for Charlotte, N.C., splashing into the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.
“There were eyewitness reports the plane may have flown into a flock of birds,” said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown. “Right now we don’t have any indication this was anything other than an accident.”
Passenger Jeff Kolodjay of Norwalk, Conn., said he heard an explosion two or three minutes into the flight, looked out the left side of the Airbus 320 and saw one of the engines on fire.
“The captain said, `Brace for impact because we’re going down,'” Kolodjay said. He said passengers put their heads in their laps and started saying prayers. He said the plane hit the water pretty hard, but he was fine.
“It was intense. It was intense. You’ve got to give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing,” Kolodjay said.
What an amazing relief. Good thing the pilot didn’t try to land on the Intrepid. As a friend put it, these are the pictures you see in the safety booklets in the seat-back pockets and shake off, thinking there’s no way in hell you’ll ever survive “in the unlikely event of a water landing.” Well, bully for Airbus. This has gotta be their best PR day in years, and well earned.
ADDENDUM: The whole scene, especially the NYT’s slide show, reminded me of Foreign Correspondent, you know, with The Birds instead of the Nazis.