US AIRWAYS flight crashes in the hudson river NY

lord lucan

title says it all. looks like a US AIRWAYS commuter plane crashed into the hudson river in new york. it's on live on fox news right now.

lord lucan

looks like an A320. it's starting to sink but people have been pulled off of it. early theories are it hit a flock of geese!

lord lucan

looks like everyone got off safely. all the NY water tour boats got there quickly and helped out.

Run_to_da_hills

You beat me to it. :mad:

V Bull

Yeh, Sky News are saying a bird strike on the left engine to U S Airways A320, everyone got out without injury after ditching into Hudson River in New York, great flying by pilot, well done man.

Run_to_da_hills

He must have slowed the plane right down to a crawl to be able to land it in one piece. He deserves a medal

tracker-man

Nah I wouldn't meddle with him, he's a hero to those passengers, he deserves a medal.:)

Run_to_da_hills

tracker-man wrote: »

Nah I wouldn't meddle with him, he's a hero to those passengers, he deserves a medal.:)

Edited

pclancy

First time i've seen a water landing that's actually turned out like the safety card says! i.e plane floats and everyone walks off. Well done pilots and crew.

robinph

One of the pictures currently on the NYTimes front pages is from before any boats made it over to the plane and it looks very crowded on the wings.

tracker-man

pclancy wrote: »

First time i've seen a water landing that's actually turned out like the safety card says! i.e plane floats and everyone walks off. Well done pilots and crew.

Very true, must of been surreal (not to mention frightening) to see


As said before well done, talk about quick responsive action![IMG]file:///C:/Users/User2/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]

Danbo!

^Cant believe that pic. Ditching in a river and everyone ok, amazing.

lord lucan

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/5690/28635902dv9.jpg

el rabitos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregorylam/

some more pics here

going to nyc in march myself :eek:

lord lucan

el rabitos wrote: »

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregorylam/

that guy got a great shot of the plane before all the boats got to it!!

Run_to_da_hills

lord lucan wrote: »

that guy got a great shot of the plane before all the boats got to it!!

He slipped up big time, He should have sold them to the highest bidder.

Davidth88

I raise a glass to the pilot , first class ditching I would say !!

spadder

Where's the rest of the of the liferafts? if this happend further out to sea, they would be screwed, (que Celine Dion)

Run_to_da_hills

They should make a movie of this and call it "Airport 2009". Duration of film 15 minutes for a change.

here.from.day.1

Ill say it again, kudos to that pilot, landed in a river - 155 passengers and crew safe. Hero.

dogmatix

I was listening to the NPR radio broadcast on the RTE DAB station last night - they where saying that the pilot has 20+ years experience with US airways and was a Air force fighter pilot before that.

To pull off a water landing like that with only one serious injury (a passenger with 2 broken legs) is amazing, considering how dangerous and difficult it is to land modern jet airliners on water. Remember that hijacked Eithopian airliner that tried to land on water when its fuel run out a number of years ago? Heavy loss of life on that occassion.

Tenger

robinph wrote: »

One of the pictures currently on the NYTimes front pages is from before any boats made it over to the plane and it looks very crowded on the wings.

Was there 2 days ago. Temp was -4 has got colder since then. No-one was going to try to swim ashore.

Amazing landing. An absolute miracle all survived. This will go into aviation traing as a textbook ditching/evacuation.

From a prfessioanal point og view,nice to see that the A320 floats. Have heard differing opinions on this possibility

stevenmu

Any landing you can swim away from ...

banshee_bones

im surprised the plane stayed afloat for so long, thought it would have sank alot quicker than that....

1966

Only minor injuries with passengers -how lucky are they all ??
Pilot - Hero !

Fratton Fred

I guess an ex fighter pilot would be ideal to handle this sort of thing, cool head under pressure, fast decision making etc. bloody good show on his behalf.

Good job the Sandycove bathers weren't on board, they would have been stripping off and jumping in

Run_to_da_hills

They should salvage this plane from the water, hose it down and use it again.

Run_to_da_hills

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

They should salvage this plane from the water, hose it down and use it again.

They probably will.

Turbulent Bill

pclancy wrote: »

First time i've seen a water landing that's actually turned out like the safety card says! i.e plane floats and everyone walks off. Well done pilots and crew.

+1. Whenever a safety announcement mentioned 'in the event of a landing on water' I always had a wry smile - this thing isn't a floatplane! Nice to see it is actually possible to ditch a modern airliner correctly, even with a (presumably) fairly big fuel load.

Taking an A320 to London this evening, surely the Irish Sea can't be any more dangerous than the Hudson River

Setun

The shot of the plane almost completely submerged like a shark's fin is fantastic. :pac:

maggy_thatcher

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

+1. Whenever a safety announcement mentioned 'in the event of a landing on water' I always had a wry smile - this thing isn't a floatplane! Nice to see it is actually possible to ditch a modern airliner correctly, even with a (presumably) fairly big fuel load.

Taking an A320 to London this evening, surely the Irish Sea can't be any more dangerous than the Hudson River

1. There wasn't a fairly big fuel load -- the flight was only going ~600km (roughly the same as DUB-LON) -- and that plane has a range of ~5,600km.

2. The Irish Sea is substantially more dangerous than the Hudson River -- the swell of the ocean makes putting both wings down at the same time that much harder.

Having said that, this pilot did an amazing job, and the fact that everyone got off without (major) injuries + all the life rafts working as designed etc makes this an incident to remind everyone to pay attention to their "crash cards" when flying!

robinph

maggy_thatcher wrote: »

... all the life rafts working as designed etc makes this an incident to remind everyone to pay attention to their "crash cards" when flying!

I read somewhere about one of the passengers saying one of the rafts had sunk. Also it was mentioned that in water landings they never use the rear doors due to it then sinking quicker as it's heavier towards the rear. That means you only have the two rafts from the front doors to try and fit 150+ people on and most people seemed to be stood on the wings whilst I guess there were still a large number of people inside at the point those pictures were taken before the ferries arrived.

If your going to have a water landing then the Hudson River in New York is probably one of the few places where it is actually 100% survivable. A water landing in any open water and there will be a lot of people in the drink before any other help arrives.

Danbo!

robinph wrote: »

I read somewhere about one of the passengers saying one of the rafts had sunk. Also it was mentioned that in water landings they never use the rear doors due to it then sinking quicker as it's heavier towards the rear. That means you only have the two rafts from the front doors to try and fit 150+ people on and most people seemed to be stood on the wings whilst I guess there were still a large number of people inside at the point those pictures were taken before the ferries arrived.

If your going to have a water landing then the Hudson River in New York is probably one of the few places where it is actually 100% survivable. A water landing in any open water and there will be a lot of people in the drink before any other help arrives.

True. The fact that there were so boats over to them straight away helped. Also, theres not many power loss situations where you would find a nice wide river like the Hudson beneath you. The fact is the river would have been quite calm compared to the sea. Even thought people were rescued within minutes, the minor injuries reported included numbness from the icy water. Had there been a delay of an hour or something, people mightn't have been so lucky.

happyoutscan

He's a hero, fair play to him and the crew.

nag

I can't wait to see the National Geographic Air Crash Investigation

Run_to_da_hills

Both engines are missing from the plane. Probably the main reason why it didn't break up when it hit the water.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ipKRkY9XnWmqqvBNAlBju1taRJCQD95OFPPG1

mumhaabu

Jeez, next thing Ryanair will buy seaplanes and start ditching Airports altogether, Imagine Mick, the berthing charges in NY Port are far lower than JFK. Either that or dump people out with disposable* parachutes.


This pilot is amazing and give me great confidence of both Airbus and US Airways to see an outcome like this. Apparently the engines snapped of nicely allowing for an easy water landing, usually the engines act as giant scoops causing the plane to somersault as happened in the Ethiopian Hijacking Air Disaster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESJx5bJIP5o

*€15 for the chute btw.

Run_to_da_hills

mumhaabu wrote: »

This pilot is amazing and give me great confidence of both Airbus and US Airways to see an outcome like this. Apparently the engines snapped of nicely allowing for an easy water landing, usually the engines act as giant scoops causing the plane to somersault as happened in the Ethiopian Hijacking Air Disaster *€15 for the chute btw.

Airbus had another incident where all passengers walked off, IE the Totanto Air France A340 in 2005. They must be using a stronger alloy than Boeing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/nyregion/17survivors.html

lord lucan

i'm amazed no footage has come out of it landing in the water given where it happened. all i can assume is hardly anyone was aware of it as it would have been virtually silent when gliding in.

Danbo!

lord lucan wrote: »

i'm amazed no footage has come out of it landing in the water given where it happened. all i can assume is hardly anyone was aware of it as it would have been virtually silent when gliding in.

It happened pretty much level with the USS Intrepid Air and Space Museum. Surely there were a few aviation enthusiasts on the deck with cameras. Also it would have been visible from the empire state observation deck, albeit at quite a distance.

*Kol*

mumhaabu wrote: »

Jeez, next thing Ryanair will buy seaplanes and start ditching Airports altogether, Imagine Mick, the berthing charges in NY Port are far lower than JFK. Either that or dump people out with disposable* parachutes.


This pilot is amazing and give me great confidence of both Airbus and US Airways to see an outcome like this. Apparently the engines snapped of nicely allowing for an easy water landing, usually the engines act as giant scoops causing the plane to somersault as happened in the Ethiopian Hijacking Air Disaster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESJx5bJIP5o

*€15 for the chute btw.

Its not really the same as the Etiopian airways accident. That aircraft was hijacked and came in with the left wing low which dug into the water causing it to spin like it did. The A320 captain didnt have a hijacker beside him. That aside he ditched perfectly. Must have been perfectly level when he hit the water.

robinph

I've only seen one picture from before it landed so far and it must have been a pretty crappy quality one as the BBC were only using it as the mini title link picture from the front page to the latest verion of the story. Couldn't see the left engine on fire in that picture though as some cabbie I'd heard on an interview earlier was claiming though and they were not using the picture in the pictures page either.

shinny

nag wrote: »

I can't wait to see the National Geographic Air Crash Investigation

Haha, I said the same thing to someone yesterday. I am a huge fan of that and Seconds from Disaster !!

JSK 252

Its ironic that this is Chesley Sullenberger's website:

http://safetyreliability.com/

This guy is a legend. He even walked up and down the aisle twice to make sure everybody was off the plane.

We salute you Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III.:) :

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=sBeKoo_4V08

x in the city

that was one hell of a landing.....blimey

Tenger

robinph wrote: »

I read somewhere about one of the passengers saying one of the rafts had sunk. Also it was mentioned that in water landings they never use the rear doors due to it then sinking quicker as it's heavier towards the rear.

The A320 escape slides are not designed to be used as liferafts. They are designated as floatation devices. Their capacity is proably only about 20-30 people. I know the larger slidesraft on the A330 are designed for 60-70 people. And true about the aft doors not being primary exits in a ditching.

noblestee wrote: »

It happened pretty much level with the USS Intrepid Air and Space Museum. Surely there were a few aviation enthusiasts on the deck with cameras.

I was on the Intrepid on Wednesday and took a a few shots of aircraft climbing overhead,one of which was a US A320! Others were small turboprops. Flew out later on Wednesday. And to be honest it was -3 Celsius so not too busy on the Intrepid,think Thursday was even colder. The aft of the Intrepid has a good view of the river but has is mostly clear of aircraft so less chance of sightseers being present there.

Pics of the stern of flight deck here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tearbringer/3202805959/


Haven't put my aircraft pics up yet,still editing.

Celtic Mech

I must say this was a textbook landing and evacuation. Everything seems (from the pics) that everything done what it was designed to do. The Pylon Shear Bolts seemed to have also done their job and allowed the pylon and engine to separate. If this did not happed then things might be different as the engines would have effectivly acted as "scoops" and maybe thrown the whole aircraft tail over nose!
The whole floating of the aircraft was also helped when the pilots would have pressed the "Ditching" pushbutton in the cockpit, this sealing the aircraft...causes ram air inlets, outflow vales to close.
A lothas been said of the pilots efforts in this, and rightly so...but i think also the rest of the crew, i.e. Cabin Crew must be commended on their actions. They had the job when the aircraft ditched to get all the passengers out the doors and to safety. They also deserve the freedom of the city along with the 2 pilots in my opinion.

Tenger

Celtic Mech wrote: »

I.............The Pylon Shear Bolts seemed to have also done their job and allowed the pylon and engine to separate. ........................

Had forgotten all about this design feature.....remember hearing about it before in emergency training.

Celtic Mech wrote: »

The whole floating of the aircraft was also helped when the pilots would have pressed the "Ditching" pushbutton in the cockpit, this sealing the aircraft...causes ram air inlets, outflow vales to close..

Didn't know there was a button/procedure like that.

Celtic Mech wrote: »

A lot has been said......but i think also the rest of the crew,............ They also deserve the freedom of the city along with the 2 pilots in my opinion.

Absolutely...while the pilots knew what was happened and had a minute or so to prepare the cabin crew knew nothing untill the cockpit crew shouted "brace for impact" over the P.A. Good training and reactions of the entire crew paid off in this incident.
In the BA incident at LHR last year the entire crew were commended.

January

According this this: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090117/twl-new-pictures-of-ny-plane-crash-3fd0ae9.html

The whole crew will get the key to the city.

Tenger

Its a great aircraft related good news tory for New York. Am sure Obama will mention it next week..perhaps we will see a photo op with him and the crew?

"Can we survive a plane crash?.....................Yes we can!"

Celtic Mech

Bramble wrote: »

Had forgotten all about this design feature.....remember hearing about it before in emergency training.

Didn't know there was a button/procedure like that..

Next time your in the cockpit of an A320 (or A330 for that matter) have a look for it. Its a Red Guarded Pushbutton located on the overhead panel roughly 3 rows from the front. If i remember correctly its beside a rotart switch for landing Field Elevation.
Anytime the aircraft is De-Iced this button is also used as it basically stops any fluid injestion, hence fumes in the cabin during the process. For info, anytime the aircraft is being de-iced you have probably noticed that the Air Conditioning goes off. This is also tied in with the procedure when pressing the Ditching Pushbutton for De-Icing.