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River rescue as NY plane crashes
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15-01-2009 11:12pm#1US Plane Crashes into NY River
BREAKING NEWS10:59pm UK, Thursday January 15, 2009
A US Airways jet with 155 people on board has crashed into the Hudson River in New York.
The plane had just left the city's La Guardia airport when it is thought to have hit a flock of birds, which disabled two engines, said authorities. The Airbus A320, with 150 passengers and five crew, was destined for Charlotte airport in North Carolina when the accident happened. The city's fire service said at least 78 people were injured - but everyone is believed to have survived. Passengers said the captain told them to brace for impact and then the plane came down. Emergency services then tried to get the passengers off the aircraft as quickly as possible.
TV footage showed dozens of them on the wings of the plane as it floated on the freezing cold river. Wearing bright yellow lifejackets, they were ferried to shore in lifeboats as the aircraft slowly began sinking into the water. They were later all rescued. One passenger said he thought the plane had dropped about 100ft and he had stood in about 5ft of water after the crash. The jet took off at 3:26pm local time (8:26pm UK time) and was in the air for just three minutes. Witnesses on the ground reportedly saw a bird strike. Passenger Alberto Panero said: "All of a sudden, the captain came on and said, 'Brace for impact,' and that's when we knew we were going down, into the water. And we just hit and somehow the plane, you know, stayed afloat and we were all able to get on the raft. It's just incredible right now that everybody's still alive."
The plane shook a bit and immediately you could smell smoke or fire. Passenger Alberto Panero recounts the New York crash The FBI said it had no information that the New York crash was an act of terrorism. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said: "There is no information at this time to indicate that this is a security-related incident.
"We continue to closely monitor the situation, which at present is focused on search and rescue."
Sky News0
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Swift Response, Heroics in Hudson River Plane Crash
Posted: Friday, January 16, 2009
Updated: January 16th, 2009 11:26 AM EDT
New York City police officers look over part of the US Airways Airbus 320 that crashed into the Hudson River on Jan. 15. Police and emergency workers and vehicles stand by at Chelsea Piers after a US Airways pilot ditched his disabled jetliner into the Hudson River.
By DAVID B. CARUSO and COLLEEN LONG
Associated Press Writers
NEW YORK --
As Capt. Brittany Catanzaro eased her commuter ferry, the Thomas Kean, into the Hudson River, she saw an eye-popping sight: a US Airways jet, bobbing on the tide.
"I couldn't believe it," said the 20-year-old, a captain for just five months. "But we train for man-overboard situations. Twice a month. And I knew what we had to do."
The ferries that ply the waters between New York and New Jersey were among the first rescue craft on the scene Thursday when Flight 1549 splashed down after engine failure. The fast actions of their crews, combined with the heroic efforts of emergency responders, produced an amazing result: All 155 people on board were pulled to safety. From the initial cry of "man overboard!" it took only a few minutes for the first boat to arrive at the jet's side. Captains said they approached cautiously to avoid swamping the jet and sending the frightened passengers standing on its wing into the freezing water. Some passengers let out cheers when the Thomas Jefferson ferry pulled up, the first of 14 vessels to render aid.
"We had to pull an elderly woman out of a raft in a sling. She was crying. ... People were panicking. They said, 'Hurry up, hurry up,'" Capt. Vincent Lombardi said. "We gave them the jackets off our backs."
Lombardi's crew plucked 56 passengers from the jet's wing and life rafts. Wide-eyed ferry passengers, their evening commute disrupted, helped out, tossing life jackets and ropes to the crash victims below. Catanzaro's boat picked up 24 people.
The fire department in New York got the first emergency call at 3:31 p.m. and was on the scene in less than five minutes. Across the river, Weehawken, N.J., police, firefighters and emergency medical crews boarded ferries awaiting rush hour and headed to the plane, minutes after the pilot guided the jet into the water.
New York City police detectives John McKenna and James Coll, of the department's Emergency Services Unit, commandeered a sightseeing ferry at 42nd Street. As they arrived at the sinking fuselage, Sgt. Michael McGuinness and Detective Sean Mulcahy tied ropes around themselves that were also tied to their colleagues. They stayed on board as McKenna and Coll entered the plane to rescue four other passengers still inside.
High above, divers Michael Delaney and Robert Rodriguez of the New York Police Department dropped from a helicopter into the water. From the air, Delaney said, "it all looked very orderly. The plane's crew appeared to do a great job. Both divers spotted a woman in the water, hanging onto the side of a ferry boat and "frightened out of her mind," Rodriguez said. "She's very lethargic. I see panic out of this woman," Rodriguez said. "She's very cold, so she's unable to climb up."
The two pulled another female passenger from the water as other passengers sat calmly on the plane's flotation devices, waiting to board the ferries clustered nearby. Both divers climbed onto the wing and entered the plane, and confirmed everyone was off.
One victim suffered two broken legs, a paramedic said, but there were no other reports of serious injuries. Fire officials said at least half the people on board were evaluated for hypothermia, bruises and other minor injuries.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson heaped praise on the rescue effort.
"They train for these kinds of emergencies, and you saw it in action," Bloomberg said. "Because of their fast brave work, we think that contributed to the fact that it looks like everybody is safe."
Paterson said it was a miracle.
"I think that in simplicity, this is really a potential tragedy that may have become one of the most spectacular days in the history of New York City's agencies," he said.
Officer.com0 -
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In fairness, it's not as bad as all that. Regulations for airports located adjacent to waterways require that airport rescue services have water rescue facilities appropriate to the aircraft operating there.
Shannon has this, for example:
Which can get to a scene fast and drop off liferafts to give enough time for rescue helis and lifeboats to arrive.0 -
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