THE hero pilot of a stricken jetliner saved 155 lives last night — as he dramatically BELLY-FLOPPED it into a freezing river.

The Airbus A320, which hit a flock of GEESE, ploughed into the icy water — where dazed passengers then scrambled on to the wings.

As they stood patiently waiting to be rescued, cool-headed captain Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III — nicknamed Sully — calmly walked TWICE through the flooded plane to check it was empty before becoming the last man out in New York.

Last night — after 78 of those on board were rushed to hospital to be treated for injuries — the city’s mayor saluted the veteran Texan flier’s “masterful job” in landing the jet on the Hudson River.
Spectacular

Michael Bloomberg said after personally congratulating the ex-US fighter ace, 57: “This pilot did a wonderful job and it would appear the crew, passengers and one infant on board got out safely.”

New York Governor David Patterson declared: “We have had a Miracle on 34th Street — now I think we had a Miracle on the Hudson.

“This was a heroic act from the pilot who saved himself and everyone else on board.

“This must now count as one of the most spectacular days in the history of New York in terms of our public agencies and all they did for the passengers who will tonight go home to their families.”

Ferries were among a flotilla of boats that raced to the jet after it slammed into the water at 150mph on one of the coldest days of the year.

The river is 50ft deep where the plane came down. Rescuers feared carnage — but were stunned to find all 150 passengers and five crew alive.

A shivering survivor told how everyone was ordered to assume crash positions as the plane suffered one of aviation’s most dreaded fates less than 45 seconds after take-off — a “double bird strike”.

With BOTH of his engines kaput the pilot shouted: “We’re coming down. Brace, brace!”

One passenger said after being taken to dry land: “The pilot said to us, ‘Prepare for impact’. Immediately people started yelling and crying. I said to myself, ‘OK this is it, let’s do it’.

“We heard a loud bang, like a car crash. Somehow the plane stayed afloat.”
Rafts

Many of those treated in hospital after being taken off the wings were suffering from exposure after braving temperatures of -7°C.

One passenger said a woman’s leg was “cut off”. Survivor Jeff Kolodjay, from Norwalk, Connecticut, said: “People were bleeding all over. We hit the water pretty hard. It was scary.” Another said: “A lot of people started praying and just collecting themselves.

“It was quite stunning. We knew there wasn’t a lot of time because we were quite close to the ground at that point and we could tell that the descent was somewhat rapid. At that point people were very quiet.

“The river was very, very smooth. The pilot extended the flaps. I don’t know if he put the gear down or not but it was just a great landing.

“I was expecting the plane would flip over or break a part. That obviously didn’t happen. It did jockey back and forth — that seemed to last an eternity.” The life rafts of the US Airways jet deployed as icy water flooded the plane in seconds.

By the time all on board were evacuated it was 4ft deep. Rescuers were seen pulling some through an emergency door. Those on board then simply walked on to the wings — calmly standing around waiting to be taken on to boats.

One passenger said: “It got pretty dark and smoky inside. At first it was a bit of a panic. There were a couple of people who took charge and started yelling, ‘Calm down’.

“It’s incredible that everyone seems to be still alive. Thank the Lord — and thank the pilot. I can’t believe somehow he managed to land that plane safely.” Up to eight ferries and local water taxis raced to the scene — swiftly joined by police boats.

Fred Burretta saw one of the engines blazing after the geese were sucked in.

He said: “I was in seat 15A right over the engine that was flaming.

“The engine blew out, the pilot turned around and made a line for the river. There was a lot of silence.

“The pilot said, ‘Prepare for impact’ — we went into water. It was a phenomenal landing.”

Another survivor said: “We just hit and somehow the plane stayed afloat.” Flight 1549 to Charlotte, North Carolina, crashed near Manhattan’s 48th Street within three minutes of taking off from LaGuardia Airport.

An air traffic controller said the pilot — who has 40 years’ experience and has pioneered safety courses for fellow fliers — at first tried to head for a nearby airport for an emergency landing.

He realised he was not going to make it — so had no choice but to ditch in the river.

Witnesses told how — with no engines — the captain made a textbook landing on the water. One astonished office worker said: “I saw the plane slowly gliding into the Hudson — like it had no power.

“At the very last minute it pulled up a little.

“There was a massive spray of water which covered the plane.
Fuel

“The belly hit the water first. It was just seconds before we saw the door blow off then people were on the wings.

“Ferry boats immediately left the piers, probably there in less than two minutes.”

Fellow witness Barbara Sambriski told how as soon as she saw the plane she realised it was in trouble. She said: “I just thought, ‘Why is it so low?’ — and splash, it hit the water.”

Journalist Alex Whittaker, who saw the drama from a 22nd floor meeting room in Times Square, said: “The doors opened and we could see life rafts.

“We could see people climbing out on to the water.”

An aviation official said: “The reports of bird strikes come from eyewitnesses on the ground.”

Early today the jet — which had appeared to be slowly sinking — was towed to a harbour wall. Experts said it stayed afloat so long because the domestic flight was a relatively short hop — meaning the Airbus’s tanks were only half-full of fuel.

One aviation expert said of the hero captain: “The odds were stacked against him and most pilots wouldn’t have liked their chances.”

British ex-pilot Eric Moody said: “You have to hit big birds to stop the engines.

“I would say that was a very successful ditching of that aircraft. Whoever has flown it has done a very good job. He’s a hero.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2138642.ece


I don't want to immagine what would be the case if it happened here

Aviation history has been re-written by the astonishing airmanship and cool-headed bravery displayed by the pilot of this plane that made a safe landing on the Hudson River in New York.   Commercial passenger jet aircraft that are manufactured by Airbus and Boeing, whose engines are slung beneath the wings, are NOT designed to land on water, as the engine intakes scoop up water explosively, and with catastrophic results to the stability of the aircraft as it attempts to ditch straight and level.

One of the very few other water crash-landings in which there were survivors left to recount the ride was piloted by Ethiopian Airline's Captain Abarte in the 1980s, who, after running out of fuel in the midst of a highjacking, brought the plane down a hundred meters off-shore from a crowded tourist beach in Mombasa.  Half of the passengers on that flight perished on impact or by drowning as the brand new Boeing 767 cartwheeled and broke up after the first engine ploughed into the water and acted as a pivot for the aircraft's violent rotation about the yaw axis.

Photographs suggest that the A320 Airbus which crash-landed on the Hudson River yesterday was set down with a level of precision and control previously thought unattainable.  That ALL passengers got out of the plane alive makes this story sound so much more like Hollywood screeplay fiction than actuality.    After performing the impossible, the captain then calmly walked TWICE up and down the cabin of his rapidly sinking aircraft, to ensure every last soul had been rescued.   What that pilot did there went way beyond the call of duty, and is one of the most incredible and heroic feats of aviation ever witnessed.

Truequest
I don't want to immagine what would be the case if it happened here

What do you mean by "here"? Where exactly are you talking about?

God at work above other things. with him nothing is impossible.
glory be to God.
americans have value for lives. their rescue is second to non.
if that plane crashlanded in nigeria since yesterday, i bet u by now efforts to reach rescue teams will be meeting the woman voice in mtn saying the number u are trying to reach is either switched off or out of the coverage area.
the nigerian police will tell u that there is no official reports on the incident yet.
Great americans, i wish they will start slave trading again so that i will sale myself to them.

chidichris:

God at work above other things. with him nothing is impossible.
glory be to God.
americans have value for lives. their rescue is second to non.
if that plane crashlanded in nigeria since yesterday, i bet u by now efforts to reach rescue teams will be meeting the woman voice in mtn saying the number u are trying to reach is either switched off or out of the coverage area.
the nigerian police will tell u that there is no official reports on the incident yet.
Great americans, i wish they will start slave trading again so that i will sale myself to them.

I've always known that nothing good can come out of you.
Thank God, ive been vindicated.

What do you mean by this statement,  I don't want to immagine what would be the case if it happened here,

Negativism is the mother of bad luck and failures,  Why cant you see anything good from home. If it happened in Nigeria i know you would still say something negative even when everyone survives.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm [flash=200,200]http://[color=#990000][/color][/flash]

The Pilot was BRILLIANT and showed guts. Thank God nobody lost his/her life.

phanthom:

What do you mean by this statement, I don't want to immagine what would be the case if it happened here,

Negativism is the mother of bad luck and failures, [b]Why cant you see anything good from home. If it happened in Nigeria i know you would still say something negative to say even when everyone survives.[/b]hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm [flash=200,200]http://[color=#990000][/color][/flash]

It is not a matter of bad mouthing Nigeria or being negative. It is a case of realism. Someone has to call a spade a spade abeg. If it was Nigeria, it is more likely than not that the people would have perished before or upon landing. But just for the sake of argument, if in Nigeria a pilot had gotten a plane safely on the River Niger or River Benue for example, many or most passengers would have likely DROWNED because our rescue services are practically non-existent (or if I want to be kind, they are grossly incompetent).

When Nigeria has something good to talk about, I'll be up there singing her praises. Until then, I'll tell it like it really is.

truly amazing

Amazing??, Thats a huge understatement!!!

Very thankful to God there wasn't any death

Speculations is that the plane may have hit a bird. Birds are very dangerous for aircraft when they accidentally fly into the engine. It has been responsible for quite a few aviation accidents.

Kudos to the pilot who maintained a level head through out. I can only imagine the horror those passengers felt when they realised they were one breath away from becoming the world's latest aviation accident statistics.

phanthom:

What do you mean by this statement,  I don't want to immagine what would be the case if it happened here,

Negativism is the mother of bad luck and failures,  Why cant you see anything good from home. If it happened in Nigeria i know you would have still had something negative to say even when everyone survives.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm [flash=200,200]http://[color=#990000][/color][/flash]

Why jump into conclusion when the poster could be referring to his house in london? Wait for him to reply.
While waiting, what would have happened if he meant nigeria like you assumed?

Ok

If it were here?!, Don't even want to think it talk more of imagine!

The biggest lucky escape ever!

Sapphic:

The Pilot was BRILLIANT and showed guts. Thank God nobody lost his/her life.

danedrol:

If it were here?!, Don't even want to think it talk more of imagine!

I'm of the honest impression a lot of our naija pilots are just as good if not better.
For anyone who's been (un)fortunate to travel on our local flights regularly you'd be amazed at the odds these pilots face considering the dereliction we refer to as our aviation sector.
I'll never forget two different flights on which I'd said my last prayers only for these pilots to pull masterly stunts in the worst of weather conditions and with likely poor communication, get the bird safely down on the tarmac.
I believe naija is the best place to come and prove your mettle as an accomplished pilot.
. . or u haven't  heard even suicide bombers fear to fly naija airlines?

Amazing!
I wish i was on the flight to witness the two thoughts of survival and perishing!

i thank God for their lives.

amazing. Thank God for their lives. And people say God no dey?
Some brave stunts from the pilot.

FBS:

amazing. Thank God for their lives. And people say God no dey?
Some brave stunts from the pilot.

True!!, I really have to give it to him though, he sure did steer that plane towards the right direction,

I mean if he had crashed on land it woulda been a whole different story, so yeah kudos to him!!

Bravo that was some landing omo 4get if na Naija e don finish be dt sm fisherman has 2 go and report assuming he gets to rescue team all the rubbish talks of not being on seat and dt people would be dying by the time d rescue is approved and they av 2 source 4 fuel and call in the team plus plenty other nonsense we might have great pilots but poor resources to to enable them do things right and be on same level with other people in their field world over

What will the likes of Nuzo and Kobojunkie say if it was a Nigerian plane that crashed into river Niger because it hit a bird?

wat a marvelous God, He has done marvelous thing for America. Glory be to Him.

Amazing, thank God for His mercies.

Yet another Miracle!

This is another reason for the survivors to thank God immensely, for keeping the pilot in the right frame of mind. If it had crashed on land, the story would have been another tragedy in the aviation history. Glory be to God Almighty.

Kudos also to the pilot, atleast for not taking some shots of monkey tail, before setting off for flight unlike my Naija Pilots them from Osunbi to Lagos.

We just have to acknowledge the level of organisation and development in American. For a rescue team to save 155 in less than 12 hours, my brother its a kudos because that cant happen in Naija. Infact Rescue team hot line go freeze because it will not be reacheable in the moment please try again letter. Maybe when BBC or CNN flash immediately on breaking News and some good fellow Nigerians rush down to thier office, to inform them, they will tell you "their oga no dey" if he come e go give orders make them go save them. When Oga returns from when he went for some shot of soilder root, he will tell you the fuel wen dey motor no go fit reach there. Even when good citizen Nigerian donates fuel immediately, they will be having only 5 life jackets, which they will be intend to use to save 155 persons.

Infact for Niaja na God go help us

Another of God's Mercy

God is everywhere,those people should give their testimonies o0o,wow! p[lane survivor. . .that's an awesome Miracle from God.

Glory be to God,may is mercy endureth for ever

i'm truly gobsmacked!!

all teary - eyed as well

i'm sure the pilot is probably still shaken himself by what he just did. its one thing to teach safety courses its another thing to put them into practice.


that he attempted to save lives is truly heroic

That ALL the passengers survived - thats MIRACULOUS!!!!

There have been many heroic and successful crash landings from failed landing gear to exploding engines, to even a bush pigeon finding its way into the engine. I have a very close person that has landed a plane without landing gear. Yes, I am serious landed on the runway with the plane's belly somewhere in Africa.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS GOD IS AT WORK!!!!!!!!!