Miracle on the Hudson

Miracle on the Hudson
Greg L · CC BY 2.0 · source
Name	Miracle on the Hudson
Date	January 15, 2009
Location	Hudson River, near Manhattan, New York City
Aircraft	Airbus A320-214 (N106US)
Operator	US Airways
Flight	US Airways Flight 1549
Origin	LaGuardia Airport
Destination	Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
Occupants	155 (150 passengers, 5 crew)
Survivors	155

Miracle on the Hudson On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 registered N106US, ditched into the Hudson River after a dual engine failure caused by a bird strike shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York City. The aircraft was commanded by Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles; all 155 aboard survived and were evacuated onto the aircraft's wings and rescued from the river. The event drew worldwide attention from media outlets such as The New York Times, BBC News, and CNN, and generated broad public interest in aviation safety, emergency response, and pilot training.

Flight and immediate events

Flight 1549 departed Runway 13 at LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft ingested a flock of Canada goosees and suffered dual engine failure in the CFM56 turbofans. The flight crew communicated with LaGuardia Air Traffic Control and attempted a return to LaGuardia and diversion to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles decided that landing options were not practicable and executed a water landing on the Hudson River near Midtown Manhattan and West Side Highway. Onboard systems including the Airbus fly-by-wire protections and the Engine indicating and crew alerting system indicated loss of thrust; the crew managed flight controls manually and performed emergency checklist items.

Rescue and emergency response

Following the ditching near Battery Park City, numerous watercraft responded, including fireboats from the Fire Department of New York, police craft from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, and commercial vessels such as the NY Waterway ferries. Passengers were helped onto the wings and life vests and inflated slides were used in the evacuation. Port Authority police officer Daniel Nash and US Airways employees coordinated with the New York City Police Department and New York City Fire Department units. Nearby vessels including the U.S. Coast Guard cutter and local tugboats assisted in transferring evacuees to shore. Emergency medical services from NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital and Bellevue Hospital triaged passengers; several individuals received treatment for hypothermia and minor injuries. The coordinated multi-agency response has been studied in Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board reviews and cited in training for urban maritime mass-casualty operations.

Investigation and findings

The National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation under investigator-in-charge Deborah Hersman and examined the engines, flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, and bird remains collected from the river. The NTSB convened panels with representatives from Airbus, CFM International, and the Federal Aviation Administration, and consulted avian experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and academic researchers at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The investigation determined that multiple Canada goose strikes caused the dual engine failures and that the crew's decision-making and airmanship were critical to the outcome. The NTSB issued a final report that discussed engine ingestion survivability, bird strike mitigation at airports such as LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, and recommendations for wildlife management associated with entities like the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Crew, passengers, and honors

Captain Chesley Sullenberger, a former United States Air Force fighter pilot and National Transportation Safety Board candidate, and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles received widespread recognition. Cabin crew, including flight attendants, were praised alongside passengers such as off-duty pilots and military veterans who assisted during evacuation. Survivors included notable individuals connected to organizations like Columbia University, Fordham University, and City University of New York affiliates who later participated in media accounts and congressional hearings. Honors awarded included praise from President Barack Obama, commendations by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and citations from aviation groups like the Aerospace Industries Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Sullenberger authored a memoir and testified before Congress and participated in documentaries by National Geographic and PBS.

Aircraft disposition and legacy

The aircraft, an Airbus A320-214 serial number 2484, was recovered from the Hudson by salvage firms contracted through the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It was transported to a secure facility in Sparrows Point, Maryland and later stored and partly preserved for investigation. Photographs and debris were analyzed at facilities associated with NTSB and FAA laboratories. The event influenced aviation policy, including wildlife hazard management at airports administered by organizations like the Federal Aviation Administration and International Civil Aviation Organization, updates to pilot training curricula at institutions such as Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University and airline groups including American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, and designs for engine ingestion certification by European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The landing has entered cultural memory through films, books, and exhibitions at institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and has been the subject of academic articles in journals affiliated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Columbia Business School.

Category:2009 in aviation Category:Airliner ditchings Category:Hudson River