Captain Sully And The "Miracle Of Hudson"

Image: @CockpitChatter/X

10 April 2024

On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed on the Hudson River in New York after hitting birds during takeoff


Image: @CockpitChatter/X

Captain Chesley Sullenberger, also known as Sully, and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles managed save all 150  passengers and five crew


Image: @CockpitChatter/X

This bird-hit blocked the windscreen view. The impact occurred at a height of less than 3,000 feet, and it was around 4.5 miles from the airport


Image: Kiran Narayana Reddy/Linkedin

Eventually, both engines shut down. The plane climbed for another 19 seconds but then entered a glide descent


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Captain Sully took control of the aircraft while Skiles tried to restart the engines. However, a mayday call was made 22 seconds after the strike


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The pilots attempted to return to La Guardia Airport, but they soon realised it was not possible


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They were cleared for landing  at Teterboro airport but the pilots said that they could not make it and would end up in the Hudson River


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The aircraft landed in the river after flying for around five minutes


Image: @NYCMayor/X

This kind of unpowered water landing is very risky, and its success came to be known as the "Miracle On the Hudson"


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Passengers were evacuated onto the wings and the emergency slides. Several boats and ferries assisted in the evacuation of passengers 


Image: @airandspace1/X

All passengers were removed from the plane and water 24 minutes after landing in the Hudson


Image: @dvesean/X

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Image: Reuters 

Image: Unsplash

Image: @CockpitChatter/X

 ndtv.com