Some of the crew and passengers of the “Miracle on the Hudson” reunited on Monday to commemorate the 15th anniversary of “the most successful sea rescue in the history of aviation.”
Approximately 50 passengers, ferry boat operators and hospital staff gathered at Pier 79 to honor the first responders who took action when US Airways Flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River on January 15, 2009. .
All passengers and crew survived as a result of water rescue.
“It's amazing how people come together even when they don't know each other,” said event organizer Dave Sanderson, a fellow flight passenger and motivational speaker and author. he said.
Sanderson recalled hearing an explosion, looking out the window, and seeing fire coming from underneath the plane. For him and the other 154 passengers and crew, a terrifying ordeal began.
Sanderson thought he was going to be at the airport when pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger announced over the in-flight public address system that the plane was making an emergency landing.
“It wasn't until we crossed the George Washington Bridge that we knew this was a serious situation,” Sanderson said of the moment the plane flew just 900 feet above the intersection.
“All I saw was water” near where the plane hit the water, Sanderson said at the event.
Sanderson said she remembered climbing into her seat to help a passenger and that she was the last passenger to leave the plane.
“There was no space for me in the wing or in the boat,” he said.
When Mr Sanderson heard the submerged aircraft begin to “groan”, he feared it was going to sink. Left with little choice and unsure whether he would be rescued in time, he jumped into the 36-degree water, but when he saw a New York Waterway ferry coming toward him, he decided to swim aboard.
“That was the longest 15-yard swim of my life.”
Giovanni Ahmad, township manager of Weehawken, N.J., was a paramedic in 2009 when he was responsible for coordinating transportation and resources for EMS and hospitals on the Garden State side of the Hudson River.
He credited the New Jersey Port Safety Initiative, a plan developed after 9/11 to strategize and coordinate emergency response to disasters between New York and New Jersey, for contributing to the rescue effort's “victory.”
The plan, completed just four weeks before the accident, primarily dealt with accidents such as capsized boats and sinking ferries, but its lessons were nothing short of a godsend on that miraculous day on the Hudson River.
“We literally accepted that plan and said, 'There's no difference.' It wasn't planned for the airplane, but treat it the same. What was prepared for that plan was Everything is in place. We took action and were able to execute 98% of it,” he said.
Also assisting with the emergency efforts from the Jersey side was Dr. Hilda Roque, an internist and retired Army captain, who said that when she arrived on the scene she was “expecting the worst” and that all the passengers were still alive. He said he felt relieved.
“They were quiet and following directions,” she said of the soaking-wet passengers.
“I was able to take off their shoes and warm their feet with bags,” she recalled.
Captain Vincent Lombardi of the New York Water Department, who helped with the unprecedented rescue effort, told reporters after the press conference that he knows more about rescuing sinking ships than sinking planes.
“'Airplane' is not written in the literature. Usually it's written as 'sunken ship,' but we applied what we know to it and it was successful,” he said.
“I was the first one to approach the wing because it was submerged in water. So I thought they needed help right away. They were wet. It was cold outside. They were washed off the bridge. There was ice in the water,” Lombardi said.
“I put the boat right on top of the wing and used the engine to keep it level so the plane wouldn't drift towards me and turn around and hit the plane. It was very boring.” he continued.
“I'm just grateful that we helped. I'm grateful that our training paid off.”
Another passenger in attendance was Dennis Rocky, who acts as a sort of unofficial social director for the 155 passengers and crew, keeping passengers and crew in touch. She wears a silver necklace of antique airplane charms that she began collecting after the crash.
“All I can say is that the last 15 years have been an unforgettable day of courage, dignity and respect.”
She admitted to having a “blank memory” of that day's ordeal, not remembering how she got off the plane and onto the rescue boat, but did remember being on the same ferry as Captain Sally. Ta.
“I'm not 100% sure what happened, but I'm grateful,” she said.
She enthusiastically thanked first responders for their life-saving efforts.
“Without you, this could have been a tragic event, but it wasn't. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
As for her fellow passengers, she said, “We are all one family. I can't tell you how grateful I am to be home and be with my family.”
On a fateful afternoon in 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 made a dangerous emergency landing in the Hudson River just five minutes after departing from New York City's LaGuardia Airport.
Shortly after takeoff, as the Airbus A320 reached an altitude of 3,000 feet, it encountered a large flock of Canada geese, blocking the pilot's view. Part of the bird was sucked into the plane's engine, and both were quickly damaged.
Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, both experienced pilots, remained calm as they piloted the endangered aircraft back to LaGuardia Island. However, they soon realized that their options were limited.
“We're going into the Hudson River,” Sullenberger famously radioed to air traffic control before jumping into the river at 3:31 p.m.
All 155 passengers and crew on Flight 1549 survived and were pulled from the near-freezing water within 24 minutes of the crash landing by rescue boats of all sizes.
After his miraculous crisis, Sullenberger became a household name, and in the same year, he was named to Time Magazine's “Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009'' by Michelle Obama. It was ranked second after.
In 2016, the incident was chronicled on celluloid in the film Sully, starring Tom Hanks.
