[GooogleGuy]

TV reporting that a US Airways Flight out of La Guardia has gone down in the Hudson River off Manhattan near the Intrepid. 147 passengers on board. "Bird in the engine" may be the cuse.

Currently the plane is floating downriver with water just below the window line. It is surrounded by various NY Waterway Ferries and rescue boats. Air temperature is a frigid 18 degrees.

Any chance this was captured on a WNY Web Cam?

[mp3 free]

If you are on-line and cannot get to a tv... Foxnews has live streaming.

[Oberjej]

Latest news reports is that "a number" of people escaped, and that the pilot made a controlled landing into the water after birds hit both engines.

Damn thing is still floating in the water - submerged just above the window line, surrounded by ferries and emergency boats. Amazing!

Hopefully "a number" = everyone.

[detskpit]

US Airways Flight 1549 -- La Guardia > Charlotte NC.

Went down in a "controlled" water landing @ 3:26 PM.

It looks like the plane is now almost completely underwater.

Word is that cross-town streets in mid-town will be shut to all but emergency treaffic to facilitate transport of folks to NYC hospitals.

[JulieSmithdccd]

Good News: Report from WABC-TV / NY Daily News that ALL passengers were removed from the plane with NO (serious) injuries. All are now safely on land.

[effebrala]

Amazing everyone survived!

[opelonafqe]

[namaikaimvputka]

Another image while the wings were still above water:


Gary Hershorn/Reuters

[casefexas]

WOW!!!

I had Fox news on TV when the plane went into the river...it's a flight path I must have taken a dozen times...all credit to the skill of the pilot for a safe ditch--it could have been a disaster-- I'm so glad no one died or that there weren't a lot of serious injuries...I just heard that air traffic control helped him avoid the towers of the GW Bridge...I wonder, with the huge number of cameras around watching everything, if some camera, somewhere, actually caught video of the ditch ???

I also wonder how the people who do this sort of thing will extract the fuselage from the River...

[Crazykz]

Someone had to get this on tape! Gold star to whoever links the first video!

[NaMbessemab]

Fantastic
Safe landing on water - almost unheard of

Well - excellent news, credit to the pilot and always great when these things turn out well - a rarity but how wonderful

Matt

[Nppracph]

One of the reporters in da Bronx,from NY1, shot a clip of the plane
making a u turn- with smoke spewing out- has not had a chance
to edit it and get on the air yet but, it will be!

[gomosopions]

I just heard on MSNBC that the plane went over the GWB @ 900'.

The towers are 604' high.

[domeffire]

Wouldnt it have made more sense for the pilot to fly up the Hudson as opposed to down it.

[Opperioav]

No- he was supposedly heading towards a small Teterboro NJ airport to ditch and didn't make it.
Also, It has now being said that this is the most successful water ditch landing in the history of commercial aviation

[AOE6q4bu]

He was probably already banking to the left almost immediately after takeoff, so to conserve energy (assuming both engines quit) continuing the maneuver would be best.

Also, there were far more water craft available for rescue closer to Midtown and Weehawken than toward Yonkers.



Bottom right, FlightAware shows the plane's flight path.

The thin light blue line is the (center?) Hudson.

[giftplas]

I was thinking in terms of ditching near the less populated area.

[Brutton]

Google Earth Flight Path Animation [0:53]

[logpogingg]

They were very lucky that boats were nearby in the water - the plane was under water in minutes - in a less populated area, this would have been a very very bad day.

[bWn4h8QD]

Arent the inflatable slides on planes supposed to double up as life rafts? Im sure I heard that somewhere.