US Airways Plane Down in NYC — All Onboard Survive

January 15, 2009 | Posted in: News, Pilots, US Airways

A US Airways jet with as many as 155 people aboard crashed into the Hudson River near 57th Street in New York. Amazingly, everyone on board was safely evacuated. Many of the passengers were rescued by ferries that motored right up to the plane’s doors. US Airways flight #1549 was heading from LaGuardia to Charlotte, North Carolina when the crash occured. Early indications are that a bird or birds striking a jet engine caused the crash. The plane had been aloft for just 3-minutes when it went down. Just this week, we’d noted that U.S. airlines had gone two years without a fatality. We couldn’t be more thankful that this record still stands. Kudos to the pilot — and also to the crew, the rescue workers — and all those passengers who stayed calm under extremely difficult (not to mention scary) circumstances.

3 Responses to “US Airways Plane Down in NYC — All Onboard Survive”

1. Toni Suzanne says:

   January 15, 2009 at 7:15 pm

   Did you notice how many people came off 1549 with BAGGAGE? Like the lady pictured standing on the wing/in the water, with the HUGE bag on her shoulder? YIKES, when will this STOP?
2. Rick Seaney says:

   January 21, 2009 at 2:57 pm

   Believe me, I noticed that, too and wrote about it in my latest column for ABCNews.com. Also, see my new post on “Safety Tips”. There’s a tip called, “Forget Your Belongings” which sounds basic, I know, but I guess we all need to be reminded of the basics now and again.
3. Nina Ortega says:

   June 13, 2009 at 12:27 pm

   I read that some passengers think that $5,000 was not enough to reimburse them for their trouble. Oh for heavens sake! Those people are lucky to be alive and should be eternally grateful to the pilots and crew who saved their lives! The airline did absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, they did everything right. The airline owed them nothing!

   That is one thing wrong with this country. Any time something bad happens, people insist that there has to be someone to blame and who must pay. If they must sue someone, then sue the geese!