With several recent air accidents, some fatal, in the news, it has been difficult to discuss airlines and safety. However, there are occasionally stories about disaster averted or at least lives saved. US Airways 1549 is the ultimate story of heroism in the air.
On January 15, 2009, an Airbus A320-214, run by the now-defunct US Airways (American Airlines has since bought the company), was operating under the flight number 1549. The aircraft with the tail number “N106US” had been in service for 9.6 years, its sole operator being US Airways for its entire lifespan. The plane departed from New York City’s LaGuardia International Airport, bound for Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.
Onboard the flight, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, a former US Air Force member with over 19,663 hours of flight (4,765 hours with the A320) time recorded over 50 years, was flying the plane. The F/O (First Officer), Jeffrey Skiles, had assumed the responsibility of being the pilot monitoring. He had over 15,643 flight hours recorded, but this flight was his first ever on the Airbus A320.
At 3:24 pm, the flight took off from LaGuardia’s Runway 04, carrying 150 passengers and 5 flight crew members. Everything from taxiing to takeoff had been uneventful for the flight crew and passengers. However, as the flight reached approximately 2800 feet, a mere two minutes after leaving the ground, US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of Canada geese. Because of the bird strike, both engines lost thrust, and the flight deck instantly found itself confronted with a state of emergency.
Both pilots started to commence the engine restart checklist, hoping to get at least one engine back. Unfortunately, neither engine came back online. The pilots started to turn back toward LaGuardia because as of that moment, the aircraft had become a very heavy glider. There was a huge risk to all of the people onboard the aircraft and all of the individuals on the ground as the plane descended rapidly, losing a lot of airspeed.
The flight crew also discussed possible diversions that they could make to land at another airport, as LaGuardia was no longer an option for the pilots. However, at 3:28 pm, Captain Sully delivered the famous line, “We may end up in the Hudson.” The air traffic controller, puzzled at this response, offered the option to divert to Teterboro, but that option was now long gone with the plane less than 1500 feet in the air.
At 3:30 pm, US Airways Flight 1549 landed on the Hudson River with no damage to its hull. As water began rushing into the plane, the captain gave the order to evacuate from the aircraft, and all 150 passengers begin to board the plane’s inflatable rafts. Thankfully, a large tour boat spotted the sinking aircraft and began to rescue its passengers. At 3:55 pm, all 155 people aboard the plane were successfully evacuated from the plane, leaving only 5 with serious injuries. To this day, the Miracle on the Hudson remains the only flight to execute a successful water ditching without fatalities. President George Bush recognized both Captain Sullenberger and First Office Skiles with the Masters Medal for their heroic actions.
