Us Airways A320 Aircraft Crash Lands On Water

[glennmreid]

Just saw the morning news that a US Airways aircraft just crash landed on the Hudson River in New York. The reports are that everyone survived. I'm a huge aviation fan, and I must say the skill required by the pilots to land on water, between two major cities on a very busy river was amazing. I must say congratulations to the pilots for an amazing job, and great to hear everyone was ok. The story is below:-

A plane carrying 148 passengers and up to six crew crashed into New York's Hudson River and was sinking into the waters after everyone was safely rescued.

Dozens of frantic passengers clustered on the wings of the US Airways plane seeking to stay above the rising freezing waters as they were evacuated off the plane onto waiting boats.

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said all the people on board had survived and been rescued after flight 1549 crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport in New York on its way to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday.

It confirmed there were 148 passengers and five or six crew on board the ill-fated flight, and said it was an accident that may have been the result of a collision with some birds.

Passenger Alberto Panero told CNN said he heard a loud bang just after take-off from La Guardia.

"The plane shook a bit and immediately, you could smell smoke or fire and immediately, the plane basically just started turning in another direction," he said.

"It didn't seem like it was out of control, we knew something was going on," he said.

"All of a sudden, the captain came on and said, 'Brace for impact,' and that's when we knew we were going down, into the water. And we just hit and somehow the plane, you know, stayed afloat and we were all able to get on the raft and - it's just incredible right now that everybody's still alive."

"Right now we don't have any indication right now that this was anything other than an accident," the FAA's Laura Brown told reporters, adding there were preliminary reports that birds hit the plane.

Police helicopters hovered over the stricken plane as four large ferries and several smaller boats gathered in the waters nearby. The Coast Guard dropped life jackets into the water for survivors amid frigid temperatures.

Fire and emergency service crews assisted survivors, with one passenger saying there had been elderly people as well as children on board the aircraft.

On a freezing winter's day, water temperatures were estimated at minus six degrees celsius outside and four degrees in the water, making it a race against time to get everyone off the plane before they could suffer from hypothermia.

Panero told CNN by phone he believed everyone had escaped alive, and had been evacuated from the floating plane.

He said the rescue "boats managed to get right up to the door and you could just literally, in effect, jump off into a boat, never had to go into the water".

"I saw what looked to be a small commercial plane flying south making a gradual landing," witness Ben Vonklemperer told CNN.

"I saw it hit the water. It made a big splash," he said. "I did see it hit the water at a very gradual angle. It appeared not to have landing gear engaged," he said.

"The way they hit it was very gradual. A very slow contact with the water that it made."

The Hudson River crash comes 27 years and two days after an Air Florida Boeing 737-222 airliner crashed into the 14th Street bridge in Washington and plunged into the Potomac River immediately after takeoff in a snow storm on January 13, 1982.

The accident killed 78 people, including four motorists on the bridge.

[Ken A]

It's a pretty amazing story that one. Some very lucky people on that flight.

Well done to the pilot & crew I think they are owed a by all the passengers

[Chris 55]

What an awsesome job done by the pilot and flight crew

they are some really lucky people

[Flightmanager]

If It Aint Boeing , I aint Going !!!

Ross

( Not a big fan of the Airbus )

[mrsswordfisherman]

No wonder why it was an amazing event

Take a look at the pilot's credentials on his website http://safetyreliability.com/about_us

If you were to choose anyone to be at the helm in that situation it would be this guy

Cheers mrsswordfisherman

[The Iceman]

They were so lucky the pilot managed to get the aircraft down on an even plane

One wingtip hitting the water and it would have been a lot different

[glennmreid]

If It Aint Boeing , I aint Going !!!

Ross

( Not a big fan of the Airbus )

I'm with you Ross. Love Boeings. Love the 767. My favourite boeing is the 757. Just love the sound of those engines. You could pick a 757 taking off before you saw it. Sounds like a giant hair dryer

[achjimmy]

I'm with you Ross. Love Boeings. Love the 767. My favourite boeing is the 757. Just love the sound of those engines. You could pick a 757 taking off before you saw it. Sounds like a giant hair dryer

Make that 3. Boeing spent years building miltary jets and that robust extends to there commercial stuff. I fly a lot and I love travelling in the 747 always feels safe. Not looking forward to my 1st flight in the block of flats (380)

[The Iceman]

Gees you guys must love me then cause I work for Boeing

[Flightmanager]

It will be very interesting to hear the CRV readouts when they are downloaded, also the data from the FR's .

Interesting enough, the A320;s have a " Ditch " button , which closes all external valves on the aircraft , so that in the event of a water landing , water does not enter the fuselage .

Still many conflicting reports , and much speculation as to cause and final result , but a 100% survivabilty result is excellent , regardless of the aircrafts manufacturer !! Kudos to the flight crew ( Captain AND First Officer) for keeping their heads when everything else around them was turning to sh!t !!!

Ross

[glennmreid]

It will be very interesting to hear the CRV readouts when they are downloaded, also the data from the FR's .

Interesting enough, the A320;s have a " Ditch " button , which closes all external valves on the aircraft , so that in the event of a water landing , water does not enter the fuselage .

Still many conflicting reports , and much speculation as to cause and final result , but a 100% survivabilty result is excellent , regardless of the aircrafts manufacturer !! Kudos to the flight crew ( Captain AND First Officer) for keeping their heads when everything else around them was turning to sh!t !!!

Ross

Will be an interesting read. didn't know about that feature on the A320, very interesting Ross. The flight crew were amazing, in 9 out of 10 occasions, this would've been a disaster. The pilots were amazing, and quick thinking saved them all. Could've been the same result as the Ethiopian Airlines 767 that ran out of fuel and broke up after a water landing, when the left wing hit the water first. Even with all of this modern technology, without engines it comes down to the skill of the pilots, to land an aircraft on water which basically became a giant glider when it lost power. Not an easy thing to do when you have an aircraft that weighs many tons, and it going to hit the water at 200-300km/h.

[Flightmanager]

Yes , it is most often used when aircraft are being de-iced on the ramp , as the de- icing fluid is highly toxic , and can find its way into the main cabin .

Main difference with the Ethiopian crash was the pilot was being bludgeoned by hijackers while he was trying to land. According to simulator re-creations of that crash , if he had landed wings level , there would have been substantially less damage .

Ross

[Dreamtime]

A plane carrying 148 passengers and up to six crew crashed into New York's Hudson River and was sinking into the waters after everyone was safely rescued.

Dozens of frantic passengers clustered on the wings of the US Airways plane seeking to stay above the rising freezing waters as they were evacuated off the plane onto waiting boats.

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said all the people on board had survived and been rescued after flight 1549 crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport in New York on its way to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday.

It confirmed there were 148 passengers and five or six crew on board the ill-fated flight, and said it was an accident that may have been the result of a collision with some birds.

Passenger Alberto Panero told CNN said he heard a loud bang just after take-off from La Guardia.

"The plane shook a bit and immediately, you could smell smoke or fire and immediately, the plane basically just started turning in another direction," he said.

"It didn't seem like it was out of control, we knew something was going on," he said.

"All of a sudden, the captain came on and said, 'Brace for impact,' and that's when we knew we were going down, into the water. And we just hit and somehow the plane, you know, stayed afloat and we were all able to get on the raft and - it's just incredible right now that everybody's still alive."

"Right now we don't have any indication right now that this was anything other than an accident," the FAA's Laura Brown told reporters, adding there were preliminary reports that birds hit the plane.

Police helicopters hovered over the stricken plane as four large ferries and several smaller boats gathered in the waters nearby. The Coast Guard dropped life jackets into the water for survivors amid frigid temperatures.

Fire and emergency service crews assisted survivors, with one passenger saying there had been elderly people as well as children on board the aircraft.

On a freezing winter's day, water temperatures were estimated at minus six degrees celsius outside and four degrees in the water, making it a race against time to get everyone off the plane before they could suffer from hypothermia.

Panero told CNN by phone he believed everyone had escaped alive, and had been evacuated from the floating plane.

He said the rescue "boats managed to get right up to the door and you could just literally, in effect, jump off into a boat, never had to go into the water".

"I saw what looked to be a small commercial plane flying south making a gradual landing," witness Ben Vonklemperer told CNN.

"I saw it hit the water. It made a big splash," he said. "I did see it hit the water at a very gradual angle. It appeared not to have landing gear engaged," he said.

"The way they hit it was very gradual. A very slow contact with the water that it made."

Here's the picture.