Horror: Airbus crashes in Hudson River; Update: Everyone safe
posted at 4:03 pm on January 15, 2009 by Allahpundit
If you’re wondering why it’s still in one piece, it’s because it couldn’t have been in the air for more than 90 seconds or so to have started at LaGuardia and ended up in the Hudson. No details yet, but I’ll be curious to see what the top altitude was.
The cause, if you can believe it, is apparently a collision with a flock of geese. There are survivors; ferries in the river are pulling them off the wings. You can watch live at MSNBC. Stand by for updates.
Update: Surreal footage from CNN. I confess, I didn’t know that planes float.
Update: It’s 20 degrees right now in NYC, incidentally. Wind chill: Seven degrees.
Update: Get a load of this. I’m cautiously optimistic that everyone’s going to be rescued.
Update: CBS NY says it was in the air for six full minutes and made it up to 3,200 feet. I’m amazed it’s intact. The pilot must have brought it down at a remarkably gentle angle.
Update: Ah, here’s why it was in the air for so long — they were actually trying to return to LaGuardia.
The plane, US Airways flight 1549, took off from LaGuardia Airport at 3:26 p.m. was bound for Charlotte, N.C. and had 146 passengers and 5 crew members. The plane may have hit a flock of birds, according to a F.A.A. report, and then descended. The pilot tried to return to the airport when the plane fell into the Hudson.
Evidently there are injuries, but maybe just hypothermia and shock. No reports of deaths yet.
Update: I hope this guy’s right because it looks the plane’s sinking now:
“Prepare for impact” – all that was said by the pilot before the landed in the river according to passenger Alberto Panero in a phone interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
“Somehow the plane stayed afloat and we were all able to get on the raft,” said Panero. “Some people were on the wings and had to wait there but most of the people were able to get on the raft.”…
“I can’t say 100% but I’m pretty sure everyone was able to get off,” he said. “It was just like a car crash, the impact.”
Update: An eyewitness describes the “incredibly controlled” landing, almost like a sea plane.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Update: The FAA says everyone’s alive. I see a promotion in someone’s future.
Update: Meet the hero. A quote from Time Magazine: “At a press conference soon after the incident, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the pilot walked up and down the aisle twice to make sure no one was left on the plane.”
Blowback
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It’s surprising that nobody’s made the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade connection yet.
hicsuget on January 15, 2009 at 4:41 PM
Don’t watch msnbc. Fox News Channel is so much better.
Didn’t know planes float? (probably doesn’t know a frogs ass is watertight either)
R D on January 15, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Wow, if everyone did survive, what a miracle! Sounds like it’s a testament to the skill of the pilots as well.
RightWinged on January 15, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Trace Gallagher says he used to barefoot water ski. The cold water is apparently good news for an emergency landing.
Passengers have been quarantined, supposedly for a head count.
The plane managed to crash near the ferry terminal, which allowed the boats to get there very fast. Passerbys reportedly gave over coats to the wet passengers.
amerpundit on January 15, 2009 at 4:44 PM
Birds are very hard on airplanes. Jet engines can’t digest them very well. They break windshields. They are really a bad thing.
And besides, they don’t signal when they turn.
CrazyGene on January 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM
Well done on the pilots’ and crew’s parts.
spmat on January 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM
I hope they all made it.
rbj on January 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM
[Insert 24 Season 7 reference here]
Glenn Jericho on January 15, 2009 at 4:46 PM
FAA saying yes, they all survived. Not so good for the geese, though.
HornetSting on January 15, 2009 at 4:47 PM
The remarkable ability of the pilots to avoid this type of situation and everybody to have gotten out alive is amazing.
rslancer14 on January 15, 2009 at 4:48 PM
They’re saying everyone survived. A couple passengers were taken away on gurneys…but all seem to be doing well. I tell ya, you hear of a plane going down around here, and the first thing you think of is 9/11…
JetBoy on January 15, 2009 at 4:48 PM
That is some first rate flying skill, the pilots are to be commended.
G-man on January 15, 2009 at 4:49 PM
I’ve heard of flight and cruise packages but this is ridiculous.
Ugly on January 15, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Kudos to the pilots & crew, as well as the passengers for staying calm.
clancy_wiggum on January 15, 2009 at 4:50 PM
The pilots will be celebrated as heros………
………….. until they are discovered to be Republicans.
Seven Percent Solution on January 15, 2009 at 4:50 PM
I took this same flight last year. After being stuck in La-Guardia with cancellations all day long, finally got on board.
Sitting next to us, a Muslim couple in full islamic wardrobe reading their Korans in Arabic and reciting prayers. Lets just say several thoughts raced through my mind, then at the end of the flight it turned out the male mulsim was crippled. Which slightly made me feel like a jackass.
jp on January 15, 2009 at 4:50 PM
Yep. Air Florida (IIRC) flight taking off from National (now Reagan) airport crashed on take-off. The river was frozen over in places. People in cars on the bridge stopped and watched in horror. One brave soul dived into the river and rescued a woman passenger. I think Pres. Reagan invited him to the State of the Union address. Don’t remember how many died, but there were multiple fatalities — some from drowning. Those folks weren’t as lucky as these (if reports of everybody surviving are true, as we all hope).
AZCoyote on January 15, 2009 at 4:50 PM
I can’t believe that the head of the Intrepid brought them up as sponsors of his boat, and then Neil smacked him down and said something about them being bailed out!
I guess we will start seeing the CEOs comfortably flying private again. They would prefer to arrive safely and dry.
Unbelievable job by NYFD. Talk about resources……. Any other cities have a boat that could tow a submerged Airbus up a river against a current?
JeffinOrlando on January 15, 2009 at 4:52 PM
I noticed that too. The other plane took a quick right turn and then circled back to look over it. It doesn’t say what size the other plane was but based on its altitude and flight pattern I bet it was a small private plane. I bet that pilot has the shakes right now too.
Corsair on January 15, 2009 at 4:54 PM
Then suddenly it’s all “Did they pay all their taxes!?”
But seriously:
AP haven’t you ever looked at the little safety guides in the airplane? It always shows a plane floating in the water with life rafts and – how’d you think the rafts worked?? XP
apollyonbob on January 15, 2009 at 4:54 PM
One of the networks (Fox I think, although I was flipping channels) reported that the plane is being held up by cables running from a large tug through the open doors at either end of the plane.
Y-not on January 15, 2009 at 4:56 PM
The difference there was that plane had been hijacked and was being flown by the hijackers. It had also run out of fuel.
CurtZHP on January 15, 2009 at 4:58 PM
I think only about 4-6 people survived that crash.
CurtZHP on January 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM
anything with Air trapped inside of it floats
this is how boats work
jp on January 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Hehe, yep. Having raced cars I can tell you when the pucker factor hits it almost takes a crowbar to remove you from your seat!
There may be another connection people aren’t quite putting together here! Airbus is a French company, and what brought this plan down? Geese! Perhaps some revenge for eating frau-gua(sp?).
I kid, I kid! I’m glad no one was seriously hurt or killed.
Liberty or Death on January 15, 2009 at 5:01 PM
I tip my hat to the pilot that greased a landing of a dead plane on a body of water…..friggin incredible.
David in ATL on January 15, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Ok.. But a plane without fuel, and a plane without working engines kinda results in the same thing.
rslancer14 on January 15, 2009 at 5:02 PM
heh, my company had 2 employees on board apparently. no word yet.
jp on January 15, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Thankfully all have survived.
I thought an A320 could fly on a single engine? Any word on if both engines were taken out? Wonder what the odds of that are.
Hammerhead on January 15, 2009 at 5:03 PM
dang Canadian Geese, they are everywhere and we aren’t allowed to hunt/kill them thanks to environmentalist.
down south they crap all over our golf courses too, some business have emerged that train dogs to scare them off from certain locations.
jp on January 15, 2009 at 5:04 PM
This broke just as I got in the truck for my ride home. Riveting radio coverage from WCBS 880 in NY.
An absolute miracle everyone’s out intact.
Goodness, if that came down anywhere else all hell would have broken loose.
JammieWearingFool on January 15, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Any bets on how long Greta Van Susteren will string this out………….
……….. maybe to the parents of the geese that caused the crash?
Seven Percent Solution on January 15, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Commercial airlines(as long as they maintain structural integrity) will float for a little while but will sink eventually as water seeps into the airplane overcoming other buoyancy. I think the FAA has rules for certain time afloat – etc.
Corsair on January 15, 2009 at 5:05 PM
I’ll say it again. The plane was French made. Probably tried to surrender to the geese.
HornetSting on January 15, 2009 at 5:05 PM
had this happened later this week, it really would’ve been a site assuming the Hudson is frozen solid. imagine that landing
jp on January 15, 2009 at 5:08 PM
French plane surrendering to Canadia geese? Isn’t that like crying ‘uncle’ to your little brother?
More seriously, props to the pilots for bringing the plane down so smoothly, and thank goodness everybody got off alive. Water landings can be tricky – they can go bad pretty fast.
Anna on January 15, 2009 at 5:12 PM
Yep. It’s been reported (on Fox) that the tugs have already towed the plane about a mile and are keeping it from sinking to facilitate the investigation.
I watched CNN’s coverage for a few minutes but Wolf was so intent on creating drama that he seemed to have the basic facts wrong.
Y-not on January 15, 2009 at 5:14 PM
The Hudson won’t be freezing, trust me. Water temp is 41 degrees currently. I grew up a few blocks from the river. Never saw it frozen.
JammieWearingFool on January 15, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Not always. The plane that was out of gas would have lost a bunch of other systems, because I doubt the Amateur Hour pilots (hijackers) would have bothered to start the APU (a little engine in the very tail of the plane that powers the onboard systems when the main engines aren’t running, like at the gate). So the degree of control is what makes the difference in these two cases.
That said, I’m still impressed with how well the plane held together. I would have figured at least the wings would have snapped off.
CurtZHP on January 15, 2009 at 5:15 PM
You just gave witness to a “True Miracle”.
shoregulls on January 15, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Yes, but water doesn’t have to be freezing to kill you. 41 degrees is plenty cold enough.
CurtZHP on January 15, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Chuckles Schumer was just on via phone with the C-BS station in NYC-said the pilots deserved the Comgressional Medal of Honor.
Amd yes, these planes do float. In 1956. a Pan Am flight ditched in the Pacific between Hawaii and the Left Coast. Despite the fact that the fueslage broke in two on impact, the pieces remained floating for almost 20 minutes, allowing all passengers to be rescued.
Del Dolemonte on January 15, 2009 at 5:26 PM
CBS-2 just reported that the pilot was trying to make an emergency landing at Teterboro in New Jersey, but came up short.
Del Dolemonte on January 15, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Absolutely, and to God for his mercy. These people need to thank God for their miracle.
HornetSting on January 15, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Well done to the pilots of course, but don’t forget the cabin crew who had to get all those people out.
And now we know everyone’s okay, can we get a little perspective here and spare a thought for the families of those geese?
They were probably still congratulating themselves for having survived the Christmas season… tragic.
EnglishMike on January 15, 2009 at 5:29 PM
that’s some pilot. we need some award every year for the best save. like this one.
Kaptain Amerika on January 15, 2009 at 5:30 PM
How long til we see Biden on TV reminding us about his ‘crash landing’ in Afghanistan?
EnglishMike on January 15, 2009 at 5:30 PM
I thought this guy was the best at landing until I read about this pilot.
nor on January 15, 2009 at 5:31 PM
I wonder if there were any scenes from Airplane! played out during this, like when everyone was getting in line to slap the hysterical lady?
Again, I keed, I keed! I’m glad everyone is safe!
Liberty or Death on January 15, 2009 at 5:32 PM
87 is plenty cold enough, if you’re in it for enough time.
I’m glad everybody survived, but I’m betting they’ll never get their luggage now.
Blacklake on January 15, 2009 at 5:32 PM
That’s one heck of pilot and crew. Thank God everyone got out of that alive.
Hog Wild on January 15, 2009 at 5:32 PM
please tell you got that on tape… come on I need video of the landing.
Kaptain Amerika on January 15, 2009 at 5:35 PM
And that is utterly stupid too. Cold water causes hypothermia much faster. There is no hard or soft of water in this regard, it is not compressable.
firepilot on January 15, 2009 at 5:38 PM
I probably just had one of the most frightening moments of my life.
As soon as the plane went down, the air traffic controllers at ZNY were on the phone to us asking for the surface observation data. As the engineer in charge, I got the call forwarded to me in the lab. I had a serious *GULP* moment when the voice on the other end stated, “We’ve had a plane go down in the water. We need to find the surface observation data NOW!”. I’m still shaking…
/praying to God that the people are all OK.
Geministorm on January 15, 2009 at 5:38 PM
The Hudson is roughly 40′-60′ deep in the middle of the channel.
kfisch on January 15, 2009 at 5:48 PM
As a member of a flight crew myself, I’m impressed by the skill and composure of the US Airways crew in clearing the plane so quickly and efficiently. This inicident could have been tragic. Knowing the training we all receive, I’m not surprised they acted professionally…nevertheless, to see it put into action with the best result possible, is a great thing to see.
SassyDarlin on January 15, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Allah, I can easily believe that. Its caused many crashes before. I can think of a E-3 Sentry that crashed on takeoff in Alaska with completely loss of the crew
firepilot on January 15, 2009 at 5:51 PM
But it can be cured…
…by the Rooster Booster, aka the Chicken Cannonizer.
unclesmrgol on January 15, 2009 at 5:52 PM
If I ever survive something like this, they can HAVE my luggage! I’ll just be happy to see my wife and kids again.
CurtZHP on January 15, 2009 at 5:54 PM
I grew up on the upper west side and remember seeing the river frozen a few times. Thought that perhaps it was because I was older than you, but then found this:
Hudson River taken from G.W. Bridge Jan., 2003
IrishEi on January 15, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Here is another incredible Twitter photo.
IrishEi on January 15, 2009 at 5:59 PM
JWF@5:15: I was a teenager in the mid-70′s and the Hudson would freeze completely, except for the channel that the big barges would carve through the middle. A couple of my more insane friends walked on the ice for several hundred yards towards NJ when a large tug with barge in tow starting sounding its horns. My friends were holding 10′ sticks parallel to the ice in case they went through the ice. Well, when they heard the horns, they turned back toward shore, and were shuffling faster than penguins. They just made it to shore when all the ice started to break into pickup truck size chunks in an upheaval. Thirty more seconds and they would have slid under. Ah. The good old days.
kfisch on January 15, 2009 at 6:00 PM
PETA
Johan Klaus on January 15, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Why is the press being so politically correct and only calling those who brought this plane down as “birds” or “geese”? What ethnicity do you think they will turn out to be?
How long are we going to have to put up with this shit? They are laughing at us in Ottawa!
Kasper Hauser on January 15, 2009 at 6:01 PM
They did. In typical government fashion they put out a memo saying “Geese are not allowed to fly in the vicinity of any US airport” but the FAA is still confused as to why it keeps happening. I guess the geese didn’t get the memo.
AZ_Mike on January 15, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Other bird strike stories:
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/training/pdf/heliprops_16_1.pdf
Kudos to pilot and crew.
swash_plate on January 15, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Winner! ROFL!
IrishEi on January 15, 2009 at 6:06 PM
LOL. This pilot is gonna get some hot lovin from a wifey or someone grateful!
My dad flew for American out of LaGuardia for 11 years, and its funny listening to him talk to his other pilot buds on the phone about how BOSS this pilot was today.
blatantblue on January 15, 2009 at 6:09 PM
This pilot should immediately be made in charge of teaching operations, and teaching pilots world-wide how to land a plane on water.
Just amazing, great work.
Richard Romano on January 15, 2009 at 6:13 PM
I say we take this pilot, whoever he be, and swear him in as President.
medguy on January 15, 2009 at 6:21 PM
The birds must have taken out both engines. They made it up to 3000 ft. before starting down. If he still had 1 fully functioning engine it would have been no problem making it back to LGA, or any other airport for that matter.
AZ_Mike on January 15, 2009 at 6:30 PM
You are very much in the minority with that opinion. Do you have some kind of new science to back that up?
R D on January 15, 2009 at 6:36 PM
Now that everyone is safe… I can add… that’s what those New Yorkers get for flying the METS express!
Whew!
mankai on January 15, 2009 at 6:41 PM
Bravo US Air.
Haunchie on January 15, 2009 at 6:44 PM
Pretty crazy, I have a friend on the wing somewhere, he was heading home from a conference. Now he is heading to a bar in NY to have a few beers now that everything is over.
sls3000 on January 15, 2009 at 6:47 PM
This is an amazing feat of airmanship. That jet has to flying at 150 knots or more just to glide, more than enough kinetic energy to crack the hull. Something like this happenned way back in the 1960s, where a Boeing 707 landed in San Francisco bay at the end of its flight and floated because its fuel tanks were empty. This Airbus is riding pretty low in the water, probably because its tanks were still full on takeoff.
Of course, there will injuries, lots of broken arms and cracked skulls and the like. It’s a miracle there are no deaths.
It’s hard to believe that birds took out both engines. That would have to be an awfully big and thick flock. When I was flying in the Air Force, we ingested a bird on take off a handful of times without the engine so much as burping. After we landed, you could see a greasy streak along the side of the jet leading right into the intake. It was as if you took a hand sponge full of chicken fat and painted a stripe along the fuselage. The engine would just eat the bird up, although on one occassion a single white feather attached itself with gristle to the inner stem of one of the compressor blades and somehow remained there the entire flight.
I suspect a mechanical failure which affected both engines simultaneously.
Takeoff is the worst time to crash, of course. You don’t have much energy on the climb out to turn and you are heavy with gas which will burn the jet to a crisp when it breaks up. This landing was extraordinary.
Tantor on January 15, 2009 at 6:52 PM
The most kind obama has extended his mighty hand of mercy upon us this day. How blessed we are to have one such as he among us.
gatorboy on January 15, 2009 at 6:56 PM
PETA is protesting the killing of birds…
Great job by the pilot, that will be one that he will remember for the rest of his life.
right2bright on January 15, 2009 at 6:58 PM
AP, you might want to add this update:
The Hero Of Flight 1549
Veteran pilot, 57, safely landed US Airways jet in Hudson River
Ugly on January 15, 2009 at 7:02 PM
Miracle. Plain and simple. Amazing piloting skills to be sure but stuff like this does make me wonder if there is a force watching over us at times.
Yakko77 on January 15, 2009 at 7:03 PM
I was at LaGuardia waiting to board a flight back to Boston when the airport CNN coverage broke in with the coverage. We couldn’t believe it, especially since the plane had just taken off while we were there.
Amazing job by the pilot and crew, and the New Yorkers who, once again, rose to the occasion and helped these people…
D2Boston on January 15, 2009 at 7:05 PM
Upper portions of US due to negative temperatures from a CANADIAN clipper.
An aircraft downed in NYC by CANADIAN geese.
How much do we know about these Canadians?
highhopes on January 15, 2009 at 7:08 PM
That pilot is one bad-ass pilot. To bring that down in a narrow river without grabbing a wing and flipping is just amazing. Give this guy a medal.
rivlax on January 15, 2009 at 7:11 PM
On a serious note as somebody living in DC when the Air Florida crash occurred. This is a good news story all around (unless you are a stockholder in US Air).
highhopes on January 15, 2009 at 7:13 PM
aye
yo on January 15, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Since everyone survived…………….
……… I’m still laughing at the ‘Hillary on a broom’ reference.
Seven Percent Solution on January 15, 2009 at 7:19 PM
We have seen floating chunks of ice over the years.
AprilOrit on January 15, 2009 at 7:35 PM
You better believe it, our guys/gals are the best there is anywhere – ever.
AprilOrit on January 15, 2009 at 7:38 PM
I knew when I saw Shatner sitting in the window seat by the wing I should have just turned around and gone home.
- The Cat
MirCat on January 15, 2009 at 7:46 PM
Wonder how soon some lawyer got hold of the passenger list?
GarandFan on January 15, 2009 at 7:54 PM
Telephone conversation overheard in the baggage claim area of the airport:
CyberCipher on January 15, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Hey where’s my flying buddy Tony….??? I was jumpseating in the cockpit of a 757 years ago (before 9/11) out of Los Angeles and a seagull hit the windshield at about 1000 feet. It was unreal. Scared the crap out of us and man was it ugly. The blood splatter made it all the way to the aft door window.
I’m so proud of the crew!!!!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo! Great Job!!!!
people make fun of Flight Attendants until they need them. Well done gang!
katy on January 15, 2009 at 8:00 PM
And it is the pilot[b]S[/b], as in two member crew. Sometimes can even be another one up there helping the crew out if there is a another pilot commuting to work in the “jumpseat” which is a fold out tiny seat.
And the flight attendants, have a big role in helping maintain calm, and keeping it orderly too during events like this.
firepilot on January 15, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Here’s a link to his website. Naturally, he is an aviation safety consultant and a former USAF fighter jock.
I called the phone number to his office in the East Bay Area of Cali to express admiration for his massive baller status, but his voicemailbox is full. Its actually him on the recording too.
Dude will be on every talk show in the land tomorrow. Hope he gives props to the whole flight crew, as I am sure he will.
Mike D. on January 15, 2009 at 8:14 PM
One more thing: Congress should pass a law tonight prohibiting Capt Sully and the flight crew from pulling their wallet out at a bar, restaurant or ballgame ever again.
Mike D. on January 15, 2009 at 8:19 PM
Someone tell Nancy Grace and her guest to shut up. Pilots do not turn on radars and landing lights as anti-geese measures
firepilot on January 15, 2009 at 8:21 PM
If you were refering to my congrats to the CREW… the crew is the entire team. That’s how we always considered each other. Front to back.
katy on January 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM
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