US Airways Flight 1549 made a miraculous emergency landing in the Hudson River on this day in history, January 15, 2009.
The maneuver took place shortly after a US Airways Airbus A320 departed New York City's LaGuardia Airport for Charlotte, North Carolina.
Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles flew the aircraft, which was delivered new to US Airways in 1999.
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According to simpleflying.com, both pilots had significant flying experience at the time.
Sullenberger, a former military pilot, had logged nearly 20,000 flight hours, including 4,756 hours in the A320.
US Airways Flight 1549 pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger (left) and co-pilot Jeffrey Skills attend a press conference at City Hall, New York City, February 9, 2009. He was awarded the key to the city by then-mayor Michael Bloomberg.) (Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
Skiles was the newest pilot on the plane and had more than 20,000 flight hours.
According to simpleflying.com, the flight successfully took off from Queens, New York at 3:26 p.m.
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Shortly after takeoff, about 7.5 miles from the airport, the plane encountered a flock of Canada geese.
A large flock of birds flew into the pilot's field of vision, and some of the geese were swallowed by the engine.
Here, a boat is shown moored next to crashed US Airways Flight 1549, which landed in the Hudson River, with Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and an FDNY rescue boat pictured. (AP/Getty)
When the plane was at just under 3,000 feet, both engines were damaged immediately upon impact.
Sullenberger, with calm, calm reactions and quick thinking, piloted the aircraft that Skiles was piloting during takeoff.
The plane entered a glide descent 10 seconds after impact when Sullenberger activated the APU, known as the auxiliary power unit.
As simpleflying.com explained, this powers the generator and provides air pressure.
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Attempts to restart the main engine failed, but Sullenberger made a mayday call just 22 seconds after the bird hit the plane.
Recordings of radio calls from the cockpit revealed Sullenberger calmly reporting the incident.
“This is Cactus 1549, Hitbird,” he said.
“Both engines have lost thrust. We're turning back to LaGuardia.”
Air traffic control immediately offered the option of an emergency landing at LaGuardia Airport, but Sullenberger calculated that the plane would not make it.
Instead, the pilots requested a landing at Teterboro Airport, New Jersey, and were cleared to land on Runway 1.
As simpleflying.com noted, the A320 was flying just 900 feet over the George Washington Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey when Sullenberger realized that an emergency landing on the Hudson River was his only option. Noticed.
Rescue workers rescue an NYFD boat parked near a US Airways plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009. (Tama Mario/Getty Images)
“We may end up in the Hudson River,” the pilot radioed.
Air traffic control continued to assist Sullenberger and Skiles as they prepared for splashdown.
“We can't do that,” Sullenberger responded to the incoming landing option.
“We're going to the Hudson River.”
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The plane made an emergency landing in the Hudson River at 3:31 p.m.
The total flight time was just five minutes, according to simpleflying.com.
The plane's 155 passengers were evacuated to the wings and emergency slides.
After US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, wet, shivering passengers wearing life vests were hoisted aboard FDNY Marine Rescue 1 to the World Yacht Pier at 40th Street in Manhattan. . (John Roca/New York Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
According to simpleflying.com, the aircraft was equipped for extended periods on the water, complete with life jackets, and the exit slide meant it could be removed and used as a raft.
Nearby boats moved quickly to retrieve the passengers from the water, New York Waterways said.
Sally Sullenberger retired from US Airways on March 3, 2010 after 30 years as a commercial pilot.
Fourteen New York Waterway ferries responded and rescued 143 passengers, while the U.S. Coast Guard and FDNY rescued 12 other passengers and crew members.
New York Waterway believes this is “the most successful sea rescue in aviation history,” according to its website.
A rescue boat floats next to US Airways Flight 1549, which crashed into the Hudson River, with the Statue of Liberty in the background. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Experts said many of the passengers could have died or suffered the effects of hypothermia had the ferry crew not reacted so quickly.
All passengers were removed from the water and from the plane by 3:55 p.m., just 24 minutes after the crash landing.
All 155 people on the plane survived upon landing.
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As simpleflying.com reported, the maneuver is known as the “Miracle on the Hudson” because such an unpowered water landing is “extremely dangerous.”
Had the ferry crew not reacted so quickly, many of the passengers could have died or suffered the effects of hypothermia.
“Although manufacturers and regulators have procedures in place for splashdowns and crashes, in practice these events are rare,” the website says.
Sullenberger was ranked second behind Michelle Obama on Time magazine's “Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009.''
Sally Sullenberger retired from US Airways on March 3, 2010 after 30 years as a commercial pilot.
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Mr. Sullenberger is co-author, with Jeffrey Zaslow, of the best-selling book about his life and the events surrounding Flight 1549, published by HarperCollins in 2009. He is the co-author of “Search''.
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