![]() ![]() Skiles, 49, who was on the last leg of his first assignment in the Airbus A320 since passing the training course to fly the type. He is also a safety expert and a glider pilot. The captain was Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, 57, a former fighter pilot who had been an airline pilot since leaving the Air Force in 1980. There were 150 passengers and five crew members, including the captain, first officer, and three flight attendants, on board. The crew made their first report after becoming airborne at 3:25:51 as being at 700 feet and climbing. On January 15, 2009, the flight was cleared for takeoff from Runway 4 at LaGuardia at 3:24:56 p.m. The award citation read, "This emergency ditching and evacuation, with the loss of no lives, is a heroic and unique aviation achievement." It has been described as "the most successful ditching in aviation history." The entire crew of Flight 1549 was later awarded the Master's Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. All 155 occupants safely evacuated the airliner, which was still virtually intact though partially submerged and slowly sinking, and were quickly rescued by nearby watercraft. ![]() When the aircrew of the Airbus 320 determined that they would be unable to safely reach any airfield from the site of the bird strike, they turned it southbound and glided over the Hudson, finally ditching the airliner near the USS Intrepid museum about three minutes after losing power. The bird strike, which occurred just northeast of the George Washington Bridge about three minutes into the flight, resulted in an immediate and nearly complete loss of thrust from both engines. US Airways Flight 1549 was a scheduled commercial passenger flight from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina that, on January 15, 2009, was successfully ditched in the Hudson River adjacent to midtown Manhattan six minutes after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport after being disabled by striking a flock of Canada Geese during its initial climb out.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |