It was 10 years ago today when the world watched in anticipation as a full plane load of people landed in the Hudson River...
On the 15th January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 (with call sign 'CACTUS 1549') was scheduled to fly from New York City's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Charlotte Douglas (CLT), with direct onward service to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. The pilot in command was 57-year-old Chesley B. Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot who had been an airline pilot since leaving the United States Air Force in 1980. At the time, he had logged 19,663 total flight hours, including 4,765 in an A320; he was also a glider pilot and expert on aviation safety. First officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, 49, had accrued 15,643 career flight hours, but this was his first Airbus A320 assignment since qualifying to fly it. There were 150 passengers and three flight attendants aboard.
During the climb out from New York City's LaGuardia Airport the aircraft struck a flock of Canada Geese just northeast of the George Washington Bridge and consequently lost all engine power. About ninety seconds later, at 3:31pm, the plane made an unpowered ditching, descending southwards at about 125 knots (140 mph; 230 km/h) into the middle of the North River section of the Hudson tidal estuary. All 155 people aboard were rescued by nearby boats and there were few serious injuries. The accident came to be known as the "Miracle on the Hudson", and a National Transportation Safety Board official described it as "the most successful ditching in aviation history". The Board rejected the notion that the pilot could have avoided ditching by returning to LaGuardia or diverting to nearby Teterboro Airport.
The pilots and flight attendants were awarded the Master's Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators in recognition of their "heroic and unique aviation achievement".
On the 8th September 2016 a movie about the incident was released called "Sully". If you haven't seen it I strongly recommend you see it.
Aircraft Information
Airline: U S Airways
Code: US /AWE
Aircraft: A320-214
Registration: N106US
Serial Number: 1044
Engines: Two GE CFM56-5B4/P
Age: 9 Years 6 Months
First Flew: 15th June 1999
Test Registration: F-WWII
Information sources from Wikipedia
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