NEWS
The pilot of a US Airways jetliner has been hailed as a hero after he masterfully ditched in the icy Hudson River off Manhatten, New York and 155 people onboard were rescued by a flotilla of converging ferries and emergency boats. The plane lost power in both engines, possibly from striking a flock of geese, soon after taking off from La Guardia airport in the afternoon hours of Thursday, January 15. We’ve had a miracle on the Hudson, New York Governor David Paterson told a news conference. The pilot somehow, without any engines, was able to land this plane... without any serious injuries, he said.

VIEWS
Captain Chesley B Sully Sullenberger III, pilot of the flight US1549, his co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles and cabin staff indeed pulled off an incredible feat. Recovering the powerless Airbus A320 in the frigid waters of Hudson River through a flawless dead-stick ditching manoeuvre, they averted a disaster that may well have killed off the ailing US Airways. The US Federal Aviation Agency has confirmed that both CFM engines of the aircraft failed, with one engine reported to have caught fire after hitting a flock of geese shortly after take-off from La Guardia airport en route to the US Airways hub at Charlotte, North Carolina.

What might have been a catastrophe was averted by the 57-year-old Captain Sullenberger’s quick thinking and deft handling of the crippled aircraft, and by the presence of rescue boats in the vicinity, a combination that both witnesses as well as officials termed as miraculous. The entire episode—from take-off to ditching and commencement of rescue—takes less than 10 minutes. The flight gets airborne at 3.26 pm (local time) from New York’s La Guardia airport. A minute later, on the climb out, Captain Sullenberger reports birdhits on both engines. At 3.28, La Guardia controllers ask him to land at a small airport, Teterboro, in New Jersey. Unable to reach Teterboro, the pilot ditches the plane in city’s Hudson River. Air temperature is -7.7 deg Celsius, water 1.6 deg, time 3.31 pm. On touchdown, the Airbus A320 floats, drifts south. Soon after, passengers wearing life-jackets stream out through emergency exits on rubber slides, some stand on the wings of the floating jet. Rescue boats and ferries close in immediately and start the rescue work. The Captain is the last to come out of the flooded aircraft having walked twice up and down the aisle to ensure that nobody is left behind. End result: no fatalities.

Was it really a miracle? Or a brilliant combination of a highly competent pilot on the flight-deck of a high-tech, stateof-the-art jetliner? Damaged and dysfunctional, the Airbus A320’s robust CFM engines continued to spew out enough power to take the 70 plus-tonne airplane to 3,200 ft height before quitting. Even though the height gained was not sufficient to reach the nearest landing ground at Teterboro, it at least afforded some reaction time to the pilot to mull an alternative plan of action. It was an extraordinary but brilliant command decision on his part to go in for a landing on the waters of the Hudson River. The airplane’s alternate systems, such as the Auxiliary Power Unit and the ram air turbine, continued to supply electric and hydraulic power and allowed the pilot full use of the jet’s flight-control system till touchdown. The rest was left to the pilot.