US Airways plane crashes into Hudson River
Jetliner goes down into frigid water in New York City after collision with flock of birds disables both its engines, sending more than 150 passengers and crew members scrambling onto rescue boats
A US Airways jetliner crashed into the frigid Hudson River on Thursday afternoon after a collision with a flock of birds disabled both its engines, sending more than 150 passengers and crew members scrambling onto rescue boats, authorities say.
After boats rushed to the rescue, the Federal Aviation Administration said that all passengers on US Airways Flight 1549 were off the plane and safe.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the flight had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport en route to Charlotte, North Carolina, when the crash occurred in the river near 48th Street in New York City.
The plane, an Airbus 320, took off at 3:26 pm (2026 GMT) and went down minutes later, Brown said.
"There were eyewitness reports the plane may have flown into a flock of birds," Brown said. She added, "right now we don't have any indication this was anything other than an accident."
Plane went down minutes after takeoff (Photo: Reuters)
The plane was submerged in the icy waters up to the windows. Rescue crews opened the door and pulled passengers in yellow life vests from the plane. Rescue boats and commuter ferry boats that ply the Hudson surrounded the plane, which appeared to be slowly sinking in the near-freezing water. The temperature was around 20 degrees (minus 6.7 Celsius).
Witnesses said the plane's pilot appeared to guide the plane down.
"I see a commercial airliner coming down, looking like it's landing right in the water," said Bob Read, who saw it from his office at the television newsmagazine "Inside Edition." "This looked like a controlled descent."
New York City firefighters and the Coast Guard worked to rescue the passengers. The fuselage appeared intact, and the plane appeared to be sitting high in the water well after the crash with rescuers standing on the wings once they reached the site.
"I saw what appeared to be a tail fin of a plane sticking out of the water," said Erica Schietinger, whose office windows look out over the Hudson. "All the boats have sort of circled the area."
Joe Mazzone, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot, said it is not unusual for birds to strike planes. In fact, he said, when planes get ready to take off, if there are birds in the area, the tower will alert the crew.
"They literally just choke out the engine and it quits," Mazzone said.
