Friday, January 16, 2009
US Airways flight 1549 lifted off from New York City’s La Guardia Airport on Thursday afternoon for what should have been a routine 2 hour flight to Charlotte, NC.
But only moments after liftoff, the engines on the Airbus A320 ingested a flock of birds, described as either geese or gulls, causing the airplane to suffer a devastating power loss in both engines.
The crippled airplane managed to climb to just 3,200 feet over the Bronx before San Francisco Bay Area pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III made the command decision to carefully execute an emergency touchdown in the Hudson River shortly after 3:30 p.m. between West 48th Street in Manhattan and Weehawken, N.J.
Almost immediately, an armada of New York Waterway commuter ferries, New York City police and Coast Guard rescue boats quickly surrounded the floating airliner, plucking terrified passengers off the submerged wings of the jetliner and out of the frigid 35 degree water.
Remarkably, all 155 aboard the doomed flight survived the ordeal.
From the Left 
Have you noticed the story completely bumped Bush and his farewell tour off the TV?
The networks broke for their obligatory 15 minutes of coverage and then back to the plane crash.
Bush is yesterday’s news. Last year’s news.
This was a truly astonishing event. Planes don’t very often crash land with all 150 passengers surviving to tell their tale. The pilot is a genuine hero. I want to fly on his plane the next time I travel!
Statisically, flying is still the safest form of transport. This is truly an amazing tale, nonetheless.
I’m not afraid to fly. Never was. Yesterday’s flight was an anomaly and not normal. The flying skills of this pilot are a wonder. This man deserves a medal from President Obama.
I love to fly.
Always have and I feel completely safe.