Plane Goes Down in Frigid New York River
Right after take off, a flock of birds knocked out both engines on an Airbus 320 in New York on Thursday afternoon. A US Airways pilot guided his jetliner into the frigid Hudson River bringing all 155 people on board back to safety as the plane slowly sank.
There were no reports of serious injuries. "We had a miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we have had a miracle on the Hudson," Gov. David Paterson said. According to a paramedic one victim suffered two broken legs.
The plane, an Airbus A320 that had taken off minutes earlier from LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, N.C., was submerged up to its windows in the river when rescuers arrived in Coast Guard vessels and ferries. Some passengers waited in water up to their knees, standing on the wing of the plane for help.
Police drivers had to rescue some of the passengers from underwater, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Among those on board was one infant who appeared to be fine, the mayor said.
Helen Rodriguez, a paramedic who was among the first to arrive at the scene, said she saw one woman with two broken legs. Fire officials said others were evaluated for hypothermia, bruises and other minor injuries.
The crash took place on one of the season’s coldest days, a 20-degree day in New York. State environmental officials estimated the water was 41 degrees. "It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river, and then making sure everybody got out," Bloomberg said.
Passenger Jeff Kolodjay of Norwalk, Conn., said he heard a single explosion two or three minutes into the flight. He said looked out the left side of the plane and saw one of the engines on fire. "The captain said, ‘Brace for impact because we’re going down,’" Kolodjay said. He added: "It was intense. It was intense. You’ve got to give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing."
Local witnesses said the plane’s pilot appeared to guide the plane down. Bob Read, a television producer who saw the crash from his office window, said it appeared to be a "controlled descent."
Paramedics treated at least 78 patients, fire officials said. Coast Guard boats rescued 35 people who were immersed in the frigid water and ferried them to shore. Some of the rescued were shivering and wrapped in white blankets, their feet and legs soaked.
It was less than a minute later after US Airways Flight 1549 took off at 3:26 p.m. when the pilot reported a "double bird strike" and said he needed to return to LaGuardia, said Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Union. He said the controller told the pilot to divert to an airport in nearby Teterboro, N.J.
The plane carefully splashed into the water roughly off 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.
US Airways CEO Doug Parker confirmed that 150 passengers, three flight attendants and two pilots were on board the jetliner.
The Federal Aviation Administration says there were about one for every 10,000 flights.
about 65,000 bird strikes to civil aircraft in the United States from 1990 to 2005.
Karen
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