US Air a/c crashes in NY.

[Montague S]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/15/usair-plane-crashed-in-hu_n_158263.html

looks a little surreal.

[Andrew P]

live on FOX now ( in hotel room In HKG)

per TV a bird strike

[Andrew P]

a good photo

[David Knudsen]

No word on the pax yet

Some info here, http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6606410 atleast they got the a/c type right by the looks of things!

[Montague S]

looks like something from a movie, I don't mean to laugh at the pics but it just looks quite funny, little a/c nose popping out of the water like that, it could almost be a scene from a Bond film!

[Nigel C]

Some reports say that it's possibly a multiple strike of geese, and that smoke was seen coming out of the right engine.


Congrats to the pilot and crew for the apparent safe ditching, but also hats off to Airbus; the aircraft did what it was designed to do in the event of a ditching, possibly resulting in a fatally free crash.

[NickN]

Just heard on the news all pax and crew are safe.

[Dan Hammond]

Just saw on Sunrise, Pilot reported double bird strike. Divers are at the scene but at this stage its not known if the divers can get to the aircraft

[Anthony J]

This shot is unbelievable.
http://static.10gen.com/alleyinsider.com/~~/f?id=496fa35630b7d980006b4519&maxX=600&maxY=800

[NickN]

Judging by the ABC news film clip they are towing the plane down the river.... I assume this would to to assist in keeping it afloat and not let it sink?

[David Ramsay]

From CNN, the water temp is 42 deg F (6 deg C) and the air temp is 21 deg F (-6 deg C)

Good coverage from CNN here (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/01/15/new.york.plane.crash/index.html#cnnSTCVideo)

[Andrew P]

Judging by the ABC news film clip they are towing the plane down the river.... I assume this would to to assist in keeping it afloat and not let it sink?

no its is floating down the river with the current

any bets how long it before it sinks??

[David M]

When everything goes wrong... an outcome like that is amazing!

A great shot indeed AJ. I'd bet there would have been plenty of people witnessing the entire event, so I'm sure a fair amount of video and images to come.

David.M.

[Marty H]

no its is floating down the river with the current

any bets how long it before it sinks??

Reports are they have run a cable through the doors from tugs boats to keep it afloat and are pulling it closer to shore.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE1549

[Joseph D]

Hats off to the pilots for the ditching and to the crew and rescuers for the quick evacuation.

Quite amazing images really. I can't recall any other airliner ditching in water and remaining intact. It might be a first.

[Adrian B]

The apparent lack of major damage that might have caused it to sink could be due to a report that the pilot did not deploy the gear, hence a 'smoother' 'landing' and the ability to stay above water

[NickN]

Any chance this aircraft may be fully salvagable and be able to fly ever again?

[Nigel C]

No chance...not after ditching in salt water.


From www.news.com.au
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24920014-23109,00.html


'All accounted' for on crashed plane

NEWS.com.au
January 16, 2009 09:20am

All 155 people aboard the US Airways plane that went down in New York's Hudson River today survived.
The plane ditched and began to sink after the pilot reported a "double bird strike" less than a minute after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport.

National Air Traffic Controllers Union spokesman Doug Church says the Airbus 320 reported the bird strikes about 30 to 45 seconds after takeoff.

US Airways chairman Doug Parker said that 150 passengers and five crew were all "off the flight and accounted for".

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said all the people on board had survived and been rescued.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said: “At this stage we are still seeking to confirm whether or not there any Australians on board.

“Our consulate in New York is trying to ascertain whether there were any Australians.”

With AFP

[Greg McDonald]

Good article with flight path mapped:

http://avherald.com/h?article=41370ebc&opt=0

[Nigel C]

Aircraft was N106US.

Interesting article Greg...especially this part:
The pilot reported bird strikes to both engines and wanted initially to divert to Teterboro,NJ before turning onto the Hudson River.

Looking at the map in the article, he 'may' have made it, but the outcome suggests the pilot made the correct decision at the time.

[Joseph D]

No chance...not after ditching in salt water.


Is the Hudson river salty?

[Nigel C]

Looking at Google Maps, it has a big mouth that flows right into the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern side of New York city, so I'd say it would be salty.

[AdamC]

So after 3 minutes in the air at what height would they have been at to be able to assess what they were going to do.

Wouldn't have had much time surely. Looks like they had a good runway picture of the river the way the flight path went.

[Nigel C]

So after 3 minutes in the air at what height would they have been at to be able to assess what they were going to do.

Wouldn't have had much time surely. Looks like they had a good runway picture of the river the way the flight path went.

I read it that they were in the air for a total of 3 minutes. If the strike occurred 45 seconds into the flight, they'd be around 2000-2500' perhaps?
Not sure on the glide rate of an A320....:confused:

[Marty H]

Any chance this aircraft may be fully salvagable and be able to fly ever again?


No way, be full of salt water, plus just about every operating system on it would cactus.

[Nathan Long]

No way, be full of salt water, plus just about every operating system on it would cactus.

Very funny... :D

[Nigel C]

Some reports have suggested that the bird/s the aircraft hit were Canada Geese.
These large geese are known for travelling great distances at great heights, being recorded as high as 8000'. To compound the danger they often fly at night and can fly for up to 16 hours in a stretch.

Last year a flock of 4 Canada Geese were located along the south coast of NSW. These birds were thought to have come from New Zealand, and spent nearly a month in various locations from Ulladulla in the south to Shellharbour near Wollongong.
Thankfully they were 'removed' at Shellharbour before they could establish a population here.

Here's a picture of one I took at 'The Farm' near Shellharbour the day before they were removed.
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x82/Kiska2/CanadaGoose-TheFarm_08-03-09_0014.jpg

[NickN]

So they are basically an unwanted species? because of their danger to aviation?

Sounds like ditching the aircraft was a great outcome, if they had tried to land and failed it would have been straight into the ground instead.

[Nigel C]

Unwanted out here because of their dominating nature and quick breeding. It's just a bonus to aviation that they got removed when they did.

[NickN]

Ahhhh ok, I thought they were one of those majestic breeds of geese, the ones that lay the golden eggs and all :D

Sound like the rats of the sky.

[damien b]

Amazing job by the flight crew to safely ditch the aircraft into the Hudson and allow everyone to survive. Amazing scenes to be honest.

[Mark Grima]

Pilot has been named:

from smh.com.au

"The pilot has been named as Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III, a former fighter pilot with the US Air Force and 40-year veteran of the aviation industry, according to the web site of his consulting firm, Safety Reliability Methods.

Mr Sullenberger's curriculum vitae states that he has been a pilot with US Airway since 1980. Before that he spent seven years flying F4 fighter jets with the US Air Force.

"It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river, and then making sure everybody got out," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

ABC quoted the mayor as saying Mr Sullenberger "walked the plane twice to verify if anyone was on board" before getting out himself."

And seems to be some confirmation that this is in fact the first succseful ditching of a commercial aviation aircraft.

from the same smh.com.au piece

The president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, Barry Jackson, said he believed this was the first successful ditching of a commercial passenger plane ever.

An online forum for pilots was buzzing in the wake of the incident, with many contributers also speculating that this was the first time a passenger jet had successfully ditched.

"Ditching" is an intentional emergency landing in water. It appears to happen occasionally in the military and with smaller aircraft in general aviation but is understood to be extremely rare for commercial passenger jets.

The whole article is at http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/exfighter-pilot-saves-all-on-board-crash-plane/2009/01/16/1231608938016.html

Cheers

M

[David Ramsay]

Here's a picture of one I took at 'The Farm' near Shellharbour the day before they were removed.

You got a camera on the shotgun now, Nige? :p

On a more serious note .. the captain's CV can be found here (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0115093hero1.html) (link courtesy of Mike Scott). Sometimes you just have the right guy in the right place at the right time.

[Nigel C]

You got a camera on the shotgun now, Nige? :p

I figured the gas cannon was a little too cumbersome when trying to get the flying subjects.........

[Ash W]

...
And seems to be some confirmation that this is in fact the first succseful ditching of a commercial aviation aircraft.


It depends how you would discribe successful. There have been others, the Ethiopean 767 for example that I personaly would call a success because many got out alive. Probably the first time an a/c hasn't broken up and zero loss of life. Pretty good job would say.

[David Knudsen]

It depends how you would discribe successful. There have been others, the Ethiopean 767 for example that I personaly would call a success because many got out alive. Probably the first time an a/c hasn't broken up and zero loss of life. Pretty good job would say.

I seem to recall from Air Disaster Vol 1 that the ALM/ONA DC-9 that ditched off the coast of St Croix back in 1970 (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19700502-0) didn't break up during the ditching, but lives were lost. That link doesn't mention the condition of the aircraft, however.

[Ash W]

I seem to recall from Air Disaster Vol 1 that the ALM/ONA DC-9 that ditched off the coast of St Croix back in 1970 (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19700502-0) didn't break up during the ditching, but lives were lost. That link doesn't mention the condition of the aircraft, however.

The Ethiopean one was interesting in that many survived the crash and break-up, but were drowned because they inflated their life jacket inside the a/c which meant they got stuck inside.

Looking at the footage of the US Airways crash it seems as if very few people had a life jacket on (guess not much time with this one).

[James Smith]

Is Nigel taking his work home? No bird stands a chance!

[Dino D]

Is it my imagination or is there a Concorde in the background of this vid http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=lF8q6XcCNSY @1.56 mins?

Cheers,
Dino

P.s. I seem to recall the DC-9 that ditched was intact

[Adam P.]

very few people had a life jacket on

Ahh yes, and out of those who did, guess who didn't listen to the safety demonstration....

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5248/crashmainxf1.jpg

:cool:

Shamelessly pinched off PPRuNe...

[Andrew McLaughlin]

Is it my imagination or is there a Concorde in the background of this vid http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=lF8q6XcCNSY @1.56 mins?

No, not your imagination. That's the USS Intrepid museum complete with Concorde on an adjoining pontoon!

[Nigel C]

Footage is being shown on Ch7's Sunrise program of the splash-down moment in the Hudson River. It looked like a remarkably smooth touchdown for the first 50-80m .

[Marty H]

Is it my imagination or is there a Concorde in the background of this vid http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=lF8q6XcCNSY @1.56 mins?

Cheers,
Dino

P.s. I seem to recall the DC-9 that ditched was intact

Yes it is as it ditched close the USS Intrepid Museum.

[Bernie P]

Found this (http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/flightblogger/2009/01/the-airbus-ditching-button.html) in my blog reader... Thought it was interesting, hope you do as well!!!

[Grahame Hutchison]

Interesting find, but they didn't flick the switch in this case.

[Marty H]

There are pictures of the removal of the aircraft from the Hudson on this link

http://www.airdisaster.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1945&start=125

[Bernie P]

Interesting find, but they didn't flick the switch in this case.

Hi Grahame,

That may be the case (not flicking the switch) but I didn't know that such a thing existed! A great innovation if, when flicked, it actually works, whereas in this case, it was not needed...

Are flight crew specifically trained in 'flicking' the switch, or would they have an understanding of it, requiring them to read the ops manual for the procedures involved. In which case, in this incident, time would not really have allowed???

[Philip Argy]

....

Looking at the footage of the US Airways crash it seems as if very few people had a life jacket on (guess not much time with this one).

Many of the passengers reported that they didn't know until they had left the a/c that they had landed in water, which is why they hadn't donned a life jacket. The "brace brace" mantra obviously worked well but is it possible that the cabin crew forgot to tell pax that they were in the water?

[Brad L.]

The 'Ditching' button is not only used if the aircraft is to be ditched.

It is also used when the aircraft is being de-iced.

As the button effectively seals up the aircraft, it prevents any fumes from the de-ice fluid from entering the aircraft's air-conditioning system and thus into the cabin.

- Brad

[Montague S]

http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?regsearch=N106US

few more images from our friends in NY.

[Bernie P]

Here is another 'NEW (http://media.smh.com.au/?category=Breaking%20News&rid=45473)' video that is on the SMH website...

Not sure if anyone has seen it, hope not.

[Grahame Hutchison]

Amazing video, it appears that the starboard wing exits were organised much better, many more people were on the wing very quickly. A couple of people are on the port wing quite quickly, one, then two go into the water, but not a lot of other people exit onto that wing initially.

The rear of the aircraft is well down in the water, even at this early stage.

[Greg McDonald]

The culprits have been found.....

[Grahame Hutchison]

Quack Quack

[Andrew P]

another photo

Banjo

[Nigel C]

The second engine has been located and recovered.

www.news.com.au
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24956779-401,00.html

THE left engine of a US Airways jet that crash-landed in the Hudson River was pulled from the water more than a week after the accident, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.

"The engine has been lifted, put on a barge and is going to the place in New Jersey where the rest of the plane is," said Mary Stavana, a spokeswoman for the Army command.

The engine, which was ripped from the fuselage during the emergency landing, was found this week by a team of divers in the riverbed at a site close to where the plane hit the river.

Investigators have reported finding "soft body" impacts in the jet's other engine.

The evidence, also including a feather stuck on a wing, appeared to support the belief that the Airbus hit a dense flock of birds before losing power in both engines and crash-landing in New York's Hudson River on January 15.

The rest of the plane was pulled out over the weekend, allowing recovery of the black box flight recorders, which strengthened evidence of a bird-plane collision.

The emergency landing of the Airbus A-320 was completed without loss of life, turning the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, into a national hero for having saved all 155 people onboard.

CBS Television said it would air the first public interview with Sullenberger on February 8 in its 60 Minutes program.

[Scott L.]

The US media are now all over the compression stalls which the same aircraft encountered multiple times two days before the incident. I was watching Bill O'Reilly on Fox News and they are going rife with speculation.

http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2009/090121.html

NTSB Advisory
National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
January 21, 2009

NTSB ISSUES UPDATE ON INVESTIGATION INTO DITCHING OF US AIRWAYS JETLINER INTO HUDSON RIVER


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In its continuing investigation of US Airways flight 1549, which ditched into the Hudson River adjacent to Manhattan at approximately 3:30 p.m. on January 15, 2009, the National Transportation Safety Board has developed the following factual information:

The right engine has been externally examined and documented. An examination of the first stage fan blades revealed evidence of soft body impact damage. Three of the variable guide vanes are fractured and two are missing. The engine's electronic control unit is missing and numerous internal components of the engine were significantly damaged.

What appears to be organic material was found in the right engine and on the wings and fuselage. Samples of the material have been provided to the United States Department of Agriculture for a complete DNA analysis. A single feather was found attached to a flap track on the wing. It is being sent to bird identification experts at the Smithsonian.

The left engine has been located in about 50 feet of water near the area of the Hudson River where the aircraft ditched. The NTSB is working with federal, state and local agencies to recover the engine, which is expected to occur sometime on Thursday.

The NTSB has learned that the right engine experienced a surge during a flight on January 13, 2009, and that subsequent maintenance actions included the replacement of a temperature probe. Investigators from the NTSB's Maintenance Records group are researching this report by examining applicable maintenance records and procedures.

The NTSB's Survival Factors group is in the process of interviewing passengers to learn more about the events surrounding the ditching and the emergency evacuation and rescue. The Operations and Human Performance group is interviewing US Airways flight operations training personnel.

The checked and carry-on baggage is in the process of being removed from the aircraft. Representatives from the NTSB's Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance are working to coordinate efforts with US Airways to return these items to the passengers.

The on-scene documentation of the airplane is expected to be completed by the end of the week. Preparations are underway to facilitate movement and more permanent storage of the airplane so that more detailed documentation of the damage can be performed at a later date.




NTSB Media Contact: Peter Knudson (202) 314-6100
peter.knudson@ntsb.gov

[Nigel C]

The Smithsonian Institute is a body that is available to nearly all Australian airports should a birdstrike occur with an almost unidentifiable species using DNA testing. They have nearly all bird species DNA on file.

[Philip Argy]

Here's one suggestion doing the rounds:

[Clarry S]

hi all

Noticed when they pulled the aircraft from the water that both cargo doors were open. How is this possible??

[Mike W]

I'd guess they opened them to drain the water out so it would be easier to lift out...

Too simplistic?

[David N]

Outcry Over 'Hero Of Hudson' Game

Web-users have been given the chance to become the 'Hero of the Hudson' - but some have branded the online game as "offensive".

Now a team of developers has created an online video game that lets users try their hand at his landing.

The game is set on the approach to the River Hudson, alongside New York's Manhattan Island where the plane touched down in icy waters.

Players have to keep the plane balanced at the correct incline and bring it to a smooth landing on the water.

Failing could mean putting the lives of virtual passengers at risk, as the jet crashes and sinks into the river with an ominous gurgling sound.

But the new game has had a mixed response online.

One blogger comments: "The game is about as primitive as you can get.

"Most of the comments below the game hit it on the head. It's boring, stupid and offensive."

Yet it is spreading fast across the web and has already been played by several thousand people.


http://www.addictinggames.com/heroonthehudson.html

In my opinion there is nothing exciting about this game and if people died it would be offensive

[Ryan N]

That game is fun for about 5 minutes, may be even less.

[Dan Hammond]

What a dissrespectful poor excuse of a game i hope someone forces it to be taken off the internet.

A bit strong i know but thats my feeling on it!

[Grant Smith]

In my opinion there is nothing exciting about this game and if people died it would be offensive

Fair call.. But had there been a loss of life, do you think the game would have been created?

[Grant Smith]

What a dissrespectful poor excuse of a game i hope someone forces it to be taken off the internet.

A bit strong i know but thats my feeling on it!

Dan,

What's so disrespectful about this game?

[Dan Hammond]

Dan,

What's so disrespectful about this game?

Its disrespectful to those that were on the crash, this game basically says hey these people feared for their lives lets keep people entertained by making a game out of it.

Like i said its my opinion and that wont change!

[NickN]

I suppose you disagree with all those games out there like Medal Of Honour, Call of Duty, because people died in the real wars that these games are based on?:confused:

[Matt D]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/1549.voice.recorder.tape/index.html

[Ryan Hothersall]

Heard a little bit of the ATC on AM on 891 ABC Adelaide this morning.

Captain sounded cool under extreme pressure.

[Adrian B]

The video / ATC audio on The Age front page (http://www.theage.com.au/) has a little more .

[Krzysztof M]

The crew will be on Letterman's Late Show next week Tuesday so it should air in Australia Wednesday night at 11.15pm.

The Crew of US Airways "Miracle On The Hudson" Flight 1549
Vists LATE SHOW On Tuesday, February 10th

Making their first late-night television talk show appearance since the accident, Captain Chelsey Sullenberger, First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, and flight attendants Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh and Sheila Dail will join Dave to talk about their harrowing and heroic experience.

http://lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/show_info/pants/

[Adrian B]

Holy Misleading Headlines Batman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ninemsn (http://ninemsn.com.au/) headline grab is "Cockpit Confusion", yet the link takes you to an article that is entitled "Pilot told controllers he was going down"

The audio recordings, released on Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration, reflect the initial tension between tower controllers and the cockpit and then confusion about whether the passenger jet went into the river.

Oh dear,

[NickN]

Definately wasn't a cockpit issue.

[Gareth Forwood]

I'm just amazed as to how calm the pilot remained during the whole thing - I know they're trained for these sorts of emergencies, but still, I'd expect to hear some kind of strain in their voices. Well done to the whole crew for managing the situation so well!!

[Mike Scott]

I thought some of you might find this hearing interesting/informative.

MS

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-15779

[Gerard M]

Just a heads up for anyone that may or may not be interested. Channel 7 is screening a program called Miracle of the Hudson, 730pm (Syd) monday week.

[Geoff W]

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/miracle-on-the-hudsons-pilot-sully-retires-on-bitter-note-20100304-pk39.html

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/03/03/sullenberger.retires/index.html?hpt=T2

Kind regards,

Geoff

[Geoff W]

Chris,

I apologise if I have given the wrong impression.

Thought it was related to the original post.

Again no misleading information was intended on my part.

Kind regards,

Geoff

[Ash W]

Geoff it is 100% related and in no way shape or form implies that another accident has happened, so no need to apologise.