Airbus in Hudson River

[Bosco123]

Everyone got out safley, thank god. He gets my vote for great save of the year.

to the pilot.

[Babalonian]

According to the guy (passenger) just interviewed on CNN he said it seemed as smooth as possible for that type of landing. How he knows I can not guess but he said it was fairly smooth but they were bumped around quite a bit.


I can see the used aircraft for sale newsletter in the future:

For Sale: One former US Airways A320...Low air time and recently refurbished interior and exterior...some minor water damage....$5 million USD

If the news reports are true (bird strike) and the pilot managed to do a perfect emergency water landing and there are no fatalities, the airline manufacturer could end up ahead out of this for being the manufacturer of the aircraft that nobody died in during a catastrophic engine failure.  The airline on the other hand... well they might make a little from the pilot being the hero, but if they did incur a financial loss then I'm sure in one way or another Uncle Sam will help them out in the end.

[CAVPFCDD]

truely amazing, been out on my buddys boat on the hudson, that is a very deep and a very cold river, also extremlyyyyyyyyy strong currents, esp in the manhatten area where the river comes to an end.

that takes one hell of a pilot to do that, there are very few areas to land a plane in the tristate area aside from the airports, extremly populated area, river clearly was the only option, almost made it to newark airport, a couple miles south on the new jersey side of the river.

[Shuffler]

The CNN report said no Commercial Fatalities in that early week report. So all is still good.

[REP0MAN]

That pilot is a hero. He found the only space in the Lower Manhattan area that didn't have people or buildings covering it. All survived. THAT is a hero!

[tbm37323]

how could a stupid little wussy bird crash an airplane? the engines are supposed to be "bird strike proof"!

[Treize69]

Geese aren't "stupid little wussy birds". They have some size and weight to them, and a flock can do some serious damage. I've seen them crash right through the windshield of a car or truck when they cross the road flying low.

They're stupid, but not little.

[tbm37323]

but think. a 100- foot spanned aircraft vs. a 5ft span bird. now that would be stupid, and who said it was geese?

[tbm37323]

your right, they are stupid to fly in the path of a meatgrinder!

[Meatwad]

Your new here, arent you

[Ack-Ack]

how could a stupid little wussy bird crash an airplane? the engines are supposed to be "bird strike proof"!

No, the engines are designed to be "bird strike resistant", which means the engine has to be designed so that it shuts down safely and not survive the impact.  A bird as small as 4 pounds is enough to cause catastrophic engine damage, which is way the engines have to be rated for birds as that small.  Multiple bird strikes like the one the US Airways plane experienced is enough to cause multiple failures which require immediate emergency procedures to get the plane on the ground.  Unfortunately, the jet didn't have sufficient power to return to the airport and thankfully the flight crew was experienced and skilled enough to make a picture perfect water landing.


ack-ack

[projoe]

They said a flock of Geese.....Suck in a couple of those in each engine, then you have no more engine.
I work at the Atlanta airport, through the years they have continued to add birds of prey nest sights around each runway....they say that helps the best in keeping larger birds from flying in that area.
75% of engine damage comes from bird strikes.

     Also like to add, very big salute to the pilot.. .....but need to give the F.N.A.A. a salut too.
We hatem we cussem up a storm when we see one eyeballin our planes...but they are there to do there jobs to make sure your doing yours.  To make that plane as safe as it possible could be.  I think they can pat themselves on the back for this one!!  

[Babalonian]

but think. a 100- foot spanned aircraft vs. a 5ft span bird. now that would be stupid, and who said it was geese?

The pilot radioed the tower that he hit a flock of geese at 3200 ft. and that he had an emergency situation.

And the problem with jet aircraft and birds is not a mass vs mass thing, it's a "take a lightweight and finely tuned aluminum jet-turbine engine/blender designed to process air and throw a 10-pound sack of meat, feathers and bone into it at 250 mph" thing.  Anywhere else on the plane would likely only cause a large dent (and a dead bird), but the numerous small and fragile parts in a jet turbine engine operating at high speed and tuned to handle air... just don't act like a heavily-built supersized steel-bladed blender.

The actual term is "bird strike resistant" (ack-ack beat me to it ).  And in truth there is almost always major damage to the engine that took in the bird since most of the time that a plane is at co-fowl altitude the engines are going full throttle, and the faster the engines are spinning + the size of the bird + the speed difference between the two makes for enough damage to render the engine useless.  And dont forget that birds come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, there is a signifigant difference between a swallow, a pigeon, a goose and a turkey.

What is unique about this incident is that it sounds like the pilot hit a flock of geese and that both engines took a strike.  While the plane is likely designed to fly with one engine still fully operational, it sounds like both were damaged or dead from the strike.

[Wolfala]

Check out Aero-news.net.  They are reporting it was:  Reports Confirm The Captain Is SRM Founder Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III

Reports Confirm The Captain Is SRM Founder Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III

Here's a guy who may never have to pick up a bar tab ever again. His nickname is "Sully" and he is reportedly the Captain of the US Airways A320 that went down Thursday in near-freezing waters just off LaGuardia International Airport, shortly after departure.

Fate may not have been able to pick a better flyer for this emergency as Captain Sullenberger is a highly regarded aviator with extensive experience, and is also the President & CEO of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. SRM is "a consulting firm that provides expert solutions to complex problems involving safety, high performance and high reliability."

Sullenberger's web site lists him only as a "captain for a major US airline with over 40 years of flying experience." It also mentions that he is a former US Air Force (USAF) fighter pilot, who has served as an instructor and Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) safety chairman, accident investigator and national technical committee member.

He has participated in several USAF and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident investigations. His ALPA safety work led to the development of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular. Working with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists, he coauthored a paper on error inducing contexts in aviation. He was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Crew Resource Management (CRM) course used at his airline and has taught the course to hundreds of his colleagues. Sully is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy (B.S.), Purdue University (M.S.) and the University of Northern Colorado (M.A.). He was a speaker on two panels at the High Reliability Organizations (HRO) 2007 International Conference in Deauville, France May 29-31, 2007. He was recently named a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.

Several passengers say the Captain walked up and down the length of the aisle before abandoning it to rescue personnel... and the freezing Hudson River... to make sure everyone made it out OK.

Captain Sullenberger, wherever you are... if all is at it appears, the first round is on us. It looks like you deserve it.

[Wolfala]

Wow,

I don't think we can appreciate how lucky that plane is to have landed where it did. Think about it, the river is 33*, that gives you about 4 minutes. They ended up in an area with police boats able to respond, fire boats, ferry's, not to mention the USCG from New Jersey and NY, and the Port Authority assets. All this, and the aircraft remained intact for 15 minutes for everyone to evac and get off by one of many methods.

No other city on the planet has those kinds of assets in place.